


Your Highness

by Galahard



Series: Modern Royalty AU [1]
Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Genre: I'll probably add more tags as I go along, Kingsman is a bodyguard agency not a spy agency, M/M, Modern Royal AU, Not explicit yet but knowing my stuff it'll end up explicit, There might be some Roxy/Tilde stuff in this but it'll be a side thing if so
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-20
Updated: 2015-04-05
Packaged: 2018-03-18 19:10:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 40,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3580704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galahard/pseuds/Galahard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Modern Royal AU.</p><p> </p><p>  <i>“The international community is in chaos this morning in the wake of the deaths of many world leaders. The death of the president of the United States has been confirmed, along with the majority of his cabinet. Great Britain can count itself lucky that the Queen has been found and finally returned to her throne, but her heirs are another story. It appears that both princes and their own heirs are among the casualties of what is being referred to as the Valentine’s Day Massacre. Sources close to--”</i></p><p> </p><p>It just so happens that there is another direct heir to the British throne out there, but he's probably going to need a bit of polish.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. You sure about this bruv?

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into 中文 available: [我的王子殿下](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4184679) by [orange_s](https://archiveofourown.org/users/orange_s/pseuds/orange_s)



> Feel free to visit me on tumblr as well, I'm Galahard there as well!

“Are you sure about this?” His mother was genuinely concerned, and that was what he was going to miss the most. The way that even though she was the ruler of multiple nations she still took the time to actually care.

“I can’t do this anymore.” He met her eyes, smile apologetic. “This isn’t what I’m meant to do. George and Edward are more than qualified, and they actually like this.”

“You know what this means Leon. Visitations will be almost out of the question, not if you truly want to stay out of the public eye.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I think I’m going to enlist in the marines, get away from here for a few years before I try to settle down. Maybe make a career out of it. The tailors have already figured out some simple disguise tricks for me.”

“I’ve ordered them to keep an eye on you,” her voice was quiet but fierce, and he knew better than to argue with her. “You’ve always liked Harry, I’ll see if they can make you his focus.” She reached out, and he took her hands, finding comfort in the way that she squeezed them gently. So familiar, and something he may never experience again.

“If you ever need to come back to us you have only to say the word,” she promised. “You’re my son Lee, and we love you.” 

“I love you too mother,” he said, pulling her into a hug that would have appalled almost anyone, and that was half the reason he was leaving. He simply couldn’t cope with all the judgement for every single move that he made. “Take care, yeah?”

He set her back to her feet, watching her tilt her head proudly, knowing her eyes were on him as he left the room. The few possessions he’d decided to keep had already been removed, and sneaking out of Buckingham palace was almost more ingrained in him than proper dining techniques had ever been. He didn’t look back as he walked away but instead took a deep breath. He was finally free.

\----------

_“The international community is in chaos this morning in the wake of the deaths of many world leaders. The death of the president of the United States has been confirmed, along with the majority of his cabinet. Great Britain can count itself lucky that the Queen has been found and finally returned to her throne, but her heirs are another story. It appears that both princes and their own heirs are among the casualties of what is being referred to as the Valentine’s Day Massacre. Sources close to--”_

The voice continued to drone on from the telly, and Eggsy ignored it for the most part, staring at the last dregs of his pint in the half ruined pub and debating going home. His sister was terrified of being left alone with his mum, but he’d had to get out. Had to let out some steam.

He’d been lucky. The first wave had come when he was walking on his own, and he hadn’t come across anyone until the wave had abruptly ended. With the second wave he hadn’t been quite as lucky, but he’d managed to walk away from the ordeal with merely some bruised ribs and blacked eyes. Shitty, but nothing like what happened to most. At least he wasn’t in the fucking hospital. He’d spent enough time in there to last him the rest of his life, thanks.

Things were quiet. It had been a few days since the attack, and the only places that were really functioning were the essentials. Basic stores, pubs, anything to do with the news, emergency responders, hospitals, or reality tv stations. The really important places. But even in those places it was oddly quiet. People glancing over their shoulders, veering away from each other, mistrust everywhere you looked. The only places people seemed to agree to gather were at the funeral homes and churches, services almost continuous.

That was why he tensed up as much as he did when a gentleman approached his booth holding a pint of Guinness. There were still empty tables, and while he almost looked familiar Eggsy didn’t actually know him. 

“Good afternoon Eggsy, is it alright if I sit with you?” He didn’t actually wait for an answer, sitting in the seat across from him. “You may not remember me,” he offered, seemingly undisturbed by the way Eggsy was tensing up, jaw clenching, “but I met you when you were a little boy. I worked with your father and I gave you that medallion around your neck.”

Eggsy couldn’t help glancing down, the emblem was as much a part of him as anything else. He studied the man, eyes narrowed, and now that he had a reference point it did look like it could be the same man. “Prove it,” he said instead, crossing his arms and leaning back, leg jostling under the table as he tried to work off some energy.

He could feel himself being scrutinized but he held his own, staring back and demanding answers with his eyes. This was not the time for trust. “Very well,” the gentleman said slowly. “When I gave you that medal with the number on the back I gave you a password to use with it. Oxfords not brogues. Will that suffice?”

After a moment of mulling it over in his mind he gave a quick nod and drained the rest of his pint. “For now I guess. Depends on what the fuck you want.”

“What makes you think I want something?” 

The older man seemed actually curious, or maybe he was just clueless. Eggsy put all his skepticism in the look he gave him. “Everybody fucking wants something. So I sure as hell ain’t going to trust you if you say you don’t. Gentlemen don’t just pop down here on a whim, don’t like to get their shoes dirty. But since you knew my dad I’ll give you a couple minutes, yeah?”

“And supposing I’d like more than a couple of minutes? Or a few minutes in private to speak with you? What sort of proof would you require then?”

Distrust and suspicion flooded through him, and he wished he had another swallow of beer to give him a moment to think. As it was he went with the first thing to run through his mind. “Well that’s shady as fuck. You ain’t even told me your name and you want me to go somewhere with you? I don’t fucking think so bruv.”

“I do beg your pardon, my name is Harry Hart. I promised your father I’d keep an eye out for you, and now there are a few things that I need to discuss with you.”

“Right,” he let out a small huff of air through his nostrils, rolling his eyes away. “You’ve done a fucking brilliant job so far, I don’t know why I ever doubted you.”

“Oh, and you’ve done so much to help yourself? How long have you had that medallion, yet you’ve never once reached out for help. No, it was easier for you to simply give up, I’m certain Lee would be disappointed in you. You did well in primary school, then it all went tits up.” He almost looked as if he was reading a spelling list, voice flat and unimpressed, laying bare all the mistakes he’d made over the past fifteen years. He tried to interject, tried to justify, but Harry was merciless, shooting down his protests one after another.

“It’s not what Lee would have wanted for you,” he finally settled on, looking calmly at Eggsy. Eggsy wanted to be furious, wanted to shove away from the table and take off without looking back, except he had the sinking feeling that Harry was right. And also had a feeling that the older man was actually bothered by how things had turned out, and that was a different feeling. Someone being brutally honest because they cared. Just having someone other than his mum seem to give a shit was novel. 

“I apologize Eggsy, I probably should have intervened earlier. There is so much potential in you just waiting to be unlocked. Yet even now I’ve only come because of recent events, but there are matters that we need to discuss, privately. If you’d like I can offer you a ride home, or you can choose the location.” 

He was probably going to find himself raped and left for dead in an alley somewhere but he found himself slowly nodding. “Yeah, you can give me a lift home.” And then, because he wasn’t someone to just go along for the ride without getting something out of it, he had to add “but only if you tell me about my dad.”

\--------  
“I’d like to talk about your father very much,” Harry said, nostalgia worming its way into his expression, fond but sad. He reached for his glass to finish it off when the door of the pub opened and a few common thugs walked in. 

It was impossible to ignore how Eggsy tried to sink back into the seat, hoping not to be noticed, but one of the thugs saw him and started over immediately. Years of training had him remaining still, though he mentally took stock of the weapons he had on his person. Eggsy had been made his primary charge now, no harm would come to him.

No one would be allowed to put that flicker of fear in his eyes any longer.

The man seemed worse for the wear, and Harry wasn’t worried about him, despite the gun he was packing. He was limping a bit, one arm in a sling, a bandage covering his nose but not his black eyes.

“What the fuck you doing showing your mug around here?” He spoke loudly, trying to strut despite the limp as he got closer. “I fucking warned you that the next time I saw you you’d pay for putting me in fucking hospital.”

That was interesting. Doubtlessly injuries from Valentine’s Day, but this man was taking it personally. He was ignoring Harry’s presence altogether, and that was rude enough. “Excuse me.” He made the interjection smoothly, found it curious when Eggsy’s eyes widened and he shook his head slightly. 

“What the fuck are you doing granddad? Mind your own fucking business or you’ll get hurt.”

“You should go,” Eggsy was looking at him earnestly, and he could see genuine concern there. “He’s serious.”

He took a deep breath. If only Lee were here. If only Lee could see how his son had turned out. Not the minor criminal side, or the bit about not having a job, but the fact that here was a man he’d barely met and he was more concerned with Harry getting to safety than himself. He was definitely Lee’s child. 

“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” he smiled at them blandly, ignoring the way that Eggsy closed his eyes. “Mr. Unwin and I have a few matters to discuss, so I would appreciate if you would leave us in peace.” He stood as he said it though, not at all willing to give them any sort of upperhand. Not when his charge could be harmed. This wasn’t time to teach these thugs a lesson, it was time to evaluate and utilize his skill set if necessary.

It also gave him a vantage point, allowing him to take stock of who else was in the pub. It was rather empty actually, the bartender working at the far end and trying to ignore them. This might actually be a nice way to unwind a bit.

“Are we going to have a problem gentlemen?”

It was one of the stockier blokes that moved first, and Harry almost relaxed, arm coming up in a sweeping block to not simply stop the attack but redirect it, turning it on another of his opponents. It was all muscle memory past that, muscle memory and keeping an eye out to make sure no one was going for the door as he hadn’t had the chance to lock it. It didn’t take long for them to all be laid out on the floor, the only sounds a few groans as he quickly knocked out the bartender with a dart from his watch. 

He turned, straightening his cufflinks to see Eggsy staring at him, mouth hanging open, and he couldn’t help but allow himself a small smirk. 

“May I still give you that lift home?”

\----------

He couldn’t get comfortable in the vehicle, despite the plush, leather seats. When Harry had spoken of a car he hadn’t expected there to be a driver already waiting, was completely unaccustomed to seeing a screen, cigars, and minibar in the back. He also couldn’t resist stealing glances at the other man as they pulled away from the curb, and he refused to comment on the fact that the driver apparently knew just where to go.

“You said you’d tell me about my dad,” he prompted, unable to bear the suspense. 

Harry cleared his throat. “Yes, indeed. I’m sure you know that your father was in the marines.” He felt the familiar rush of pride at the words, straightening up a bit and nodding. He could only remember bits and pieces of his dad. Things like his fifth birthday when his dad had showed up unexpectedly, scooping him up and then taking him off to the zoo despite the chill in the air. He’d never seen his mum laugh like that since.

“I was with your father when it happened, and there is an important detail that was never passed on to your mother. Your father’s death was not caused by combat, he was assassinated.”

Eggsy's eyebrows rose. “You’re fucking with me. Why the fuck would someone be after my dad? Was he some sort of special agent?”

“Eggsy you need to understand what my job is. I’m a Kingsman. Kingsman is a service that provides bodyguards for the royal family. We’re unassociated with whatever secret service run organizations happen to be in a country, so we remain strictly focused on the royal family’s personal safety.”

“So what, my dad was a fucking bodyguard? Or you was training him to be one?”

“Shit,” Harry raised a hand to rub at his temples. “I didn’t plan through actually telling you I’m afraid. No Eggsy, I was your father’s bodyguard.

There was a part of him hard at work piecing together the evidence being presented to him, but he didn’t believe it. “I don’t fucking follow you. You said your people was bodyguards for royalty.”

“Yes Eggsy. And on the queen’s orders I was assigned to protect Prince Leon, even after he left the royal household. I made one fucking mistake and an assassination was successful, though your father was brave until the end. His actions saved everyone else that was with us that day.”

He could hear Harry talking but couldn’t believe him. “There’s no fucking way my mum would have kept this from me. And you can’t just walk away from the fucking royal family.”

“It wasn’t easy, but your father managed it. He slimmed down and put on a lot of muscle after he left, and by the time he dyed his hair and put in color contacts he received very few second glances. From what he confided in me he told Michelle that he was of lesser nobility, but did not actually reveal to her he was a prince. He wanted to be away from that spotlight, and the fewer that knew the better.

“I must admit, even talking to you almost feels like a betrayal to him. Lee fervently hoped that you would live a normal life, he would never wish a world of fancy dinner parties and paparazzi on anyone, even, dare I say it, the man that shot him. But the truth of the matter is that the nation needs you Eggsy. You are the only direct heir to the throne that is left. Prince George agreed to having a chip placed in him and his family, so they were killed. Prince Edward and his twins were in a horrible car accident during the Valentine’s Day Massacre, and there were those that attacked the few individuals that survived the collision. Only the Queen and her husband have been spared, and she needs someone to succeed her.

“That individual is you.”

“Where’s the fucking camera?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I asked where the fuck the camera was.” He almost didn’t recognize the low and intense voice coming out of him, but he was done. Whatever trick this was, whoever thought this through, well, they’d done a good job. He found himself wanting to trust the older gentleman, but they’d taken it too far. There was no possible way he was a fucking prince. “Just stop the fucking car and let me out.”

“Shit. Eggsy, please. Hear me out. Let me prove it to you. Just give me two more minutes of your time.”

“Two minutes and I’m out, I don’t give a fuck if the car is still moving.”

He watched as the older man leaned forward, pressing his thumb against the screen and it unlocked, allowing Harry to tap on a button matching the emblem that he wore around his neck.. “Merlin this is Galahad. I’m going to need you to patch Guinevere through to the car please. Immediately.” He settled back in his seat, and Eggsy gave him one last look before shifting his attention to the screen.

It was a remarkably short amount of time before a picture snapped into focus and Eggsy startled, staring down at the Queen herself. “Galahad, Merlin said you requested to speak with me. Is this him?” 

Her attention seemed focused on him, and while he had suspected there was a camera in the car to capture him at his worst he now found himself trying to straighten up even farther, aware that the Queen of fucking England could apparently see him. “Fuck,” he breathed, then paled. “I mean, Your Majesty uh,” he tore his eyes away from the screen to glance at Harry for help, the realization that maybe, just maybe, this wasn’t an elaborate trick or plot to kidnap him finally working it’s way in.

Harry, who seemed perfectly calm as he dipped his head to her. “Indeed Your Majesty, this is Leon’s son, Gary. I understand you haven’t seen him since he was a baby. Gary was smart enough to request some sort of proof to my claim that he was the rightful heir to the throne. Gary, this is Her Majesty the Queen. Your grandmother.”

He could feel himself getting lightheaded, and he didn’t even kick up a fuss at Harry calling him Gary rather than Eggsy. “You sure about this bruv?” he blurted out, brain not quite keeping up with this momentous turn of events.

“I am quite certain.” The voice didn’t come from Harry, but from the Queen, her voice easily filling the vehicle. “I understand this is a lot to take in, but trust Galahad. He has served our family admirably for years. Galahad, do bring my grandson in tonight so I can meet him properly.”

The connection closed and Eggsy slumped back into the seat, continuing to stare at the blank screen as the car drove on. He was a fucking prince. He was going to meet the fucking Queen.

He was still staring blankly ahead when Harry finally broke the silence. “We’ll need to get you changed into something a bit more appropriate for a meeting with the queen. If we go now the tailor might be able to make some basic alterations before tonight.”

That was enough to wake him out of his stupor. “Tailor? Alterations? Fuck that, if she wants to meet me she can meet me as is. We’re all family ain’t we?”


	2. One must never be late for a meeting with the Queen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to MissLancelot on tumblr for the decision to use Ryan as his sister's name in this fic. Basically it's his brother's name in the comics and since we don't get his sister's name in the film it'll work! To anyone reading this chapter: thanks for sticking around!

Harry still wasn’t sure how he had lost. It seemed like common sense that one would at least put on a blazer to meet the Queen, and if not actual trousers than a nice pair of jeans could potentially be forgiven if there was a tie involved. Yet the best he had managed was to get Eggsy to Kingsman for a fitting so there would be something for the next time, then Eggsy had distracted him by stating he was ravenous and his urge to protect and care for his charge kicked in. Before he knew it his watch was beeping, letting him know it was time to head to the palace. 

The Kingsman vehicle was recognized and while there were still badges to be examined before they were let through to the service entrance. He was completely at ease with the palace itself, knowing more of it’s nooks and crannies than most seeing as he’d been present when Lee had been escaping every time anyone so much as blinked. He’d had several years away of course, when Lee had left home and joined the marines, but since then he’d been back on duty, traveling where he was needed.

He’d never shown up with chav before though. The car rolled to a stop and he could see Eggsy’s hand reaching for the handle. “Wait Eggsy,” he said, already getting that sinking feeling that this would be just one more disagreement to add to an endless list. “For safety reasons it would be best if you wait in the vehicle until I am able to open the door for you.”

“Are you taking the fucking piss?”

“Basic safety protocol I’m afraid. Trust me, your father felt the same way.” 

He watched the boy mull it over, closing his eyes for a minute. “Not tonight,” he finally said. “I ain’t nobody going in there. Ain’t nobody out there trying to fuck me up.”

Eggsy had a point, and while instilling proper protocol early might make things easier down the road it was enough to inform him. To give him the knowledge and let him accept the truth on his own terms. “Fair enough,” he acknowledged, watching closely to see a bit of tension ease out of his shoulders.

“You’ll do fine in there,” he mentioned almost offhandedly. “But one must never be late for a meeting with the Queen.” He opened his own door, and by the time he made it around to the other side of the car Eggsy was standing outside the car, trying to act unaffected by the building but looking around with wide eyes and parted lips. He fell into line easily enough, swaggering through the halls with his trainers practically nipping at Harry’s heels.

They passed only a few individuals, most of the servants having long sought their own homes, and while the looks they received were startled, to say the least, they weren’t stopped, most of them recognizing Harry by sight. His instructions had been to take Eggsy to the White Drawing Room, and while he wished that they were going to the residential part of the house he could understand the desire to utilize the state rooms. He just wasn’t sure if that was the place he would have chosen for Eggsy specifically. At least for all it’s opulence that room could still seem cozy, if the right parties were involved. 

The farther they went the more he could sense Eggsy starting to withdraw, swagger slowly fading, the silence a bit more tense. “The worst is over,” he murmured, “you’ve already met her. She’s really not all that terrifying, but I can say with relative certainty that she knows more ways to incapacitate you than you can imagine, so I would still stay on my best behavior if I were you.” He meant it to be light but when he glanced behind him he could see Eggsy swallowing nervously.

So he slowed down until they were walking side by side and tried again. “It’s not too late to fetch a tie and perhaps a pair of decent trousers.” For that he earned a look, and he tried to hide his amusement. 

“I can’t wait to see your face when some company makes me my own fucking line of chav wear.” Eggsy raised his eyebrows as he spoke, and while Harry knew he was joking he couldn’t help but face the reality that it could actually happen. His face must have shown something, even as schooled as he was, because suddenly Eggsy was beaming. “Oh fuck, you think it could happen don’t you. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure they name some trainers after you or something.” 

He clapped Harry on the arm, radiating such a sense of familiarity that if Harry hadn’t known better he would have sworn they saw each other regularly. Instead he cleared his throat as they made the final turn, and down the hallway he could see a couple of people standing by a doorway. Lancelot was easy to place, and the man beyond her was one of MI5's, a man he’d worked with but didn’t know well. Johnson perhaps. With Arthur dead along with two others it left Kingsman short, and while they only had the Queen and her husband to cover for now it meant they had to supplement with other agencies to ensure that there was always a Kingsman agent, and that everyone was in top form.

“That is the White Drawing Room just ahead. I’ll make the formal introduction and then I’ll need to excuse myself. I’ll be waiting outside with the Queen’s guards.”

He nodded to Roxy as they passed, not blaming her for the way that she barely glanced at him before turning her focus on Eggsy, curious to see their newest charge in person. Johnson on the other hand looked offended, more than likely by Eggsy’s appearance, hand going to his gun but Harry just reached over to put a hand on Eggsy’s back, claiming him as safe and guiding him into the room before quickly dropping his arm.

“Galahad, just in time.”

The Queen was sitting on one of the couches, leaving the couch across from her the obvious place for Eggsy, and Harry guided him to an appropriate distance away before stopping to bow. There was a split second of hesitation, probably confusion really, before Eggsy was copying him. “Your Majesty,” he offered, indicating to Eggsy that he should move forward, “may I present His Royal Highness Prince Gary,” then he couldn’t help adding “of Unwin.”

“I always did think that name was rubbish,” she answered with a smile. “It seemed to grow on Leon though.”

He could see Eggsy hesitating, starting to sit and he tried not to cringe. The Queen didn’t seem too offended however, instead looking at him. “Thank you Galahad, I would appreciate if you could please excuse us now.”

He bowed again and exited the room, not entirely sure why he felt so nervous as he moved to stand next to Lancelot.

\---------

Well, this was all sorts of fucked up, and he’d give up pints for the rest of the year to have Harry back in the room with him. Galahad. Whoever the fuck he was.

As the older man exited he could see the Queen taking him in, long looks assessing him but not overly judgmental as he perched on the edge of the couch. The gold in the room was almost overwhelming, and he couldn’t wait on her any longer. “I know I ain’t what you expected.”

He tilted his head up almost defiantly, trying to give off the impression of being strong, and tried not to be too taken aback when she smiled. “I’d recognize that gesture anywhere, it’s quite clear that you’re my grandson Gary. I didn’t want to have to invite you here under these circumstances, but I’m very happy to see you again. The last time I saw you was when you were just a baby and Leon brought you by on the way home from the hospital.”

She did seem genuinely pleased to see him, but it didn’t all add up. “Why ain’t you tried to see me before? Why the fu--uh I mean, why didn’t you try to contact me?” He couldn’t help the confusion from seeping into his voice, the traces of hurt there that he hadn’t realized he’d been hiding. Now, now he was convenient. Before he just wasn’t necessary.

“I would have loved to have been a part of your life Gary, but we were trying to respect Leon’s wishes. He chose to leave the family, and it wasn’t a light decision. I know that may seem strange to you Gary, but that’s the truth of it.”

“Eggsy,” he could see the slight furrow in her eyebrows but otherwise she concealed her confusion. It was strange, but it was almost as if he knew what to look for. He might have made a similar expression. “I go by Eggsy. Ain’t no one called me Gary since I was a baby.”

“I would be pleased to call you that in private Eggsy,” and there it was. The barrier. Yet another sign that this wasn’t some normal long lost family member thing. “I’m afraid that considering our family there are some concessions we must make as we are constantly in the public eye.

“It isn’t easy. Your father hated it, and I can see glimpses of him in you.” Her voice was strong, and it was easy to see that this woman was the leader of not one but several nations, even if she was primarily a figurehead. “I do not want to see the throne taken over by some distant relative, I would prefer to pass it directly to my bloodline, to keep the lineage in power. But if you feel like you might not be able to go through with this, like you’re not entirely committed to training to be my heir, I would prefer to know it now. I will still consider you my family, I do not wish to lose that now that we have finally met, but I must put Great Britain first.”

It was almost comforting to see how serious she was, and for a moment he could pretty much forgive her for not checking in on him, for not being part of his life when her simple presence could have changed so much. Could have saved him and his mother from so much pain. Then again, their family might never have had Ryan in it, and he loved his little sister dearly enough that maybe it was worth it.

But he could make things better for them. He didn’t have to be another person standing by as shit happened. Plus, he really didn’t have any other options. If he walked away now it was back to a life of just scraping by. Even if she gave him some money he’d still be a nobody. Meeting her, meeting Harry, he felt like maybe there was a chance to be more. To do something meaningful. Maybe his father would be disappointed, but maybe he would be proud too. It wasn’t like he’d completely cut his family out, not if he’d been introduced to the Queen when he was a baby.

“I want to try,” was what he settled on. “I’ll do my fucking best, but I can’t guarantee you’re going to approve of me.”

“I’ve always appreciated honest people who try their hardest,” she remarked with a soft smile. “Those people are the true foundation of our nation. Very well then. I won’t be telling the press immediately, so there is still some time if you realize you simply can’t go on with this, I understand it is a lot to take in. 

“For now I would like you to continue to trust Galahad to take care of you. I’m afraid that even Kingsman is short staffed at the moment, so he’ll also train you in the manners and protocols you’ll need to know in order to prepare you for your first public appearance.

“I believe they’ll be moving you somewhere to keep you safer than what protection South London can offer, but I would like to arrange a meeting with you soon. Your grandfather would love to be here, but he had to retire early this evening.”

He could tell that he was about to be dismissed, but he wasn’t ready for that. “I can’t go through with this unless you do something for me,” he said evenly, watching her eyes narrow, calculating. He didn’t blame her, it sounded shady as fuck, but it was also something that he wouldn’t budge on. “My mum and my sister Ryan need to be taken care of. It don’t have to be nowhere expensive, just a little one room flat will do, but I need to know they’re taken care of.”

The look slowly eased into one of surprise and, if he wasn’t mistaken, admiration. “Of course Eggsy. I’ll arrange something in the morning.” That sounded like a dismissal to him and he stood up, surprised when she stood up as well. She seemed to be waiting for something and awkwardly he stuck out his hand, figuring that with any business transaction that should seal the deal. She gave him an exasperated look and then pulled him in for a hug, surprisingly strong for a woman of her age and he froze, unable to react, not really sure when he’d last been hugged by anyone except his mother.

“It is good to have you back,” she said quietly. “Run along now dear, it’s time for me to have my evening cup of tea.”

“Maybe next time I can join you for a cuppa?” he offered tentatively, and was surprised when he earned an actual smile. With that he all but darted toward the door, and the relative freedom of Harry Hart.

A man who never needed to know he’d said the word fuck to the Queen’s face.


	3. I ain't helpless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to play "spot the line from Princess Diaries!" I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Eggsy looked more relaxed leaving the room than he’d appeared going in, and Harry could only assume everything had gone according to plan. He nodded to acknowledge Lancelot and slipped away from the wall. It was easier to fall into place beside the boy than it was to walk the measured steps behind him, and he still needed to lead the way outside. “We’ll stop by your flat so you can gather anything you need or want,” he said quietly, voice pitched so that only the two of them could hear. “Will you require any assistance?”

“Fuck no,” Eggsy was giving him a taken aback look. “It won’t take no time to grab a few things. Shit, I ain’t helpless.”

“Really,” Harry said dryly, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder so he could steer him down the correct hallway, enjoying Eggsy’s scowl when he realized he’d been about to head the wrong way. 

Of course that wasn’t the only reason he’d done it, if he’d turned on his own Eggsy would have had time to correct his course without it seeming too off. Now though, things were different. Eggsy had met the Queen, they’d come to terms, and he was on track to be announced as the next heir as soon as Harry could polish him up a bit. That, combined with Harry being his primary bodyguard, meant that Harry had left a small device on Eggsy’s jacket. A simple bug for tracking and surveillance purposes, but it would have to do until he could get him something proper. A watch perhaps. The things were bloody useful.

Working their way back through the palace was a fairly quiet affair, and he could tell Eggsy was paying more attention to his surroundings now. It was a skill he didn’t want to put a stop to so he left him in peace until they got outside, Harry speeding up slightly so he could open the door.

For his troubles all he got was Eggsy walking behind the car to get to the other side, and he didn’t try to hide his sigh as he got into the vehicle. “Gary, it’s best if you sit behind the passenger's seat. That way if we need to park on the street we don’t have to worry about you stepping out into the road and the partition will still provide some protection from the front if a sniper decided to target you.”

“I can open my own door though,” the boy insisted as they pulled away from the building, “I said I ain’t helpless. But this Gary shit has got to go. If I’ve got to deal with being Gary in public shit okay, but you have to call me Eggsy.” 

There was a slight edge to his voice, and Harry could tell it was important. A way to cling to his identity probably, and he couldn’t help but think of another young man. One that had scrambled desperately to find his own identity not provided by the press. Yet here was his son, willing to give up what he clearly held dear (though perhaps it was not entirely selfless), but Harry was also confident that he could have taken an easier path. The Queen was the type of person that wouldn’t let her grandson starve or truly need anything, whether or not he chose to reveal himself as her heir. He couldn’t help but be impressed by the young man, smile a hint bittersweet, thought it probably couldn’t be seen in the relative darkness of the vehicle.

“I would be honored Eggsy,” was all he said instead, relaxing back in his seat and the comfortable silence that filled the air between them for the rest of the drive.

He waited until the car had parked at Eggsy's building, letting him go up alone, before turning the screen on to track Eggsy and checking his phone. There were the standard sort of messages from Merlin, wanting to know when to expect them, and he just replied when sound burst from the speaker of the car.

He had his glasses on and was in motion before he thought about it, cursing himself for thinking for a second that he should leave Eggsy on his own.

As soon as his glasses were on, Merlin receiving his signal, the sound from the bug was rerouted to his earpiece, and rage was flaring up as he heard the yells, the cry that could only be from Michelle.

He hurried up the steps two at a time, not wanting to draw too much attention to himself when it seemed unlikely that Eggsy's life was in immediate danger, but still trying to push back the frantic panic welling up as he used the connection in his glasses to instruct Merlin to open up a connection into the apartment.

_“I could kill you right now, and no one in the fucking world will notice.”_

He brought his watch up to his mouth, voice quiet but intense, knowing it would be amplified in the apartment as he charged up the second flight of stairs. “But I will. I have the authority to have you locked up for the rest of your life, Mr. Dean Anthony Baker. I must request that you leave Eggsy alone, or I’ll be forced to deal with you personally. Eggsy, open the door.”

He could hear the commotion inside, the yells of confusion, and he was about to force the door open when it slid open on it’s own, Eggsy on the other side, eyes wide, his stepfather looking on, clutching a knife but looking uncertain. That was a dangerous combination.

But Harry didn’t have a knife, he had a gun, a gun that he revealed and leveled at Dean’s head. “I beg your pardon for intruding Mrs. Unwin. Eggsy, pack your things, I’ll wait here until you’re ready.”

“I ain’t leaving without my mum.”

“Nor should you. Mrs. Unwin, if you wouldn’t mind I’ll explain what I can in the car but I would appreciate if you could get a bag together for Ryan and yourself. Don’t worry about forgetting something, we’ll take care of it.” His voice was level, calm, and he could see Eggsy reassuring her, felt the young man slip behind him and scoop up the wailing child, gently bouncing her on his hip and talking to her as he disappeared into his room.

“You can’t fucking do this,” Dean hissed at him, voice low and ugly. “I know my bloody rights.”

“Threatening to kill an unarmed man hardly seems like one of them,” Harry said coolly, not bothering to reply to Merlin’s voice in his ear, keeping him updated as to where backup was, two members of MI5 mere moments away.

Eggsy was the first to appear, a duffel slung over his shoulder, sister nestled in his chest. Harry felt his grip tighten on his gun as Dean sneered at him, as he noticed the red marks flushing Eggsy’s skin where the blows had landed. But he also didn’t miss how although Eggsy had taken a spot behind him, a sheltered position almost, he was also still standing strong, refusing to be cowed.

The agents appeared seconds before Mrs. Unwin emerged from her own room, cuffing Eggsy’s stepfather while doing nothing more than simply stating his rights. He holstered his gun into his suit, motioning for Eggsy and his mother to follow him, wanting them gone before the agents removed Dean.

He didn’t miss the way that Eggsy’s eyes caught his own, the murmured thanks as he passed by and out the door.

\--------

Harry sat in the front seat of the car, and Eggsy couldn’t help but wish it was just the two of them like it had been just fifteen minutes before.

“That’s him isn’t it?” his mum asked, voice low but he had a feeling Harry heard her anyways. “The man that came by to tell us about your dad?”

“Yeah,” he admitted, not sure how much he should say, but Harry wasn’t stopping him. “He was dad’s bodyguard I guess, he came by to check in on me today. I can’t really tell you everything, it’s all bloody secretive is what it is, but you can trust him. These people are going to get you somewhere safe.”

“I’m afraid tonight that’s a hotel,” Harry said from the front seat, not bothering to turn around. “We will do our best to find more comfortable arrangements for you tomorrow. Will a single room be acceptable for you and Ryan?”

He could see his mother’s confusion, and before she could put voice to her thoughts he was answering her question. “I’m not staying tonight, we’ve got somewhere else to get to. I’ve got my mobile on me though, yeah? I’ll keep in touch.”

It was hard to leave her at the hotel, Harry a silent shadow behind him as they walked her in, so he focused on keeping Ryan entertained as his mum checked in at the desk. At least she was safe. At least she wasn’t nowhere near Dean or his gang, and Ryan didn’t have to worry about anything either. He didn’t protest when Harry started moving toward the door, going with him and waiting until they were both in the backseat again to talk.

“So where was we going?” he asked, trying not to think too much as the car pulled away from the curb and headed off.

“Back to the tailor actually,” Harry admitted, and then the car drifted back to a peaceful quiet..

He stared out the window, wishing he could tell what Harry was thinking. Probably that a kid like him didn’t deserve none of this. That he wasn’t worth the throne, that he’d never live up to the type of man his father was. 

“Eggsy,” Harry said quietly and he snapped his attention back to the older man. “What happened tonight was appalling, but it was not your fault. Remember who you are. It may not be announced officially yet, but you are the crown prince of Great Britain. You should know that no one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

Eggsy could almost feel his heart stop then start up furiously again, grateful for the darkness that hid the flush creeping up the back of his neck. He was just embarrassed about needing to be rescued he told himself. It had nothing to do with the sincerity he could feel from the older man beside him. 

He reminded himself that it was just a job for Harry, that there was nothing more to this than that, that he absolutely shouldn’t get attached or see more to this shit than there was.

But he couldn’t shake the feeling that Harry not only cared about his safety, but about him, and it wasn’t a feeling he was accustomed to.

So he said nothing, turning back to stare out of the car, streetlights and strangers passing by in silence. Trying to ignore how he found the place in the window where he could see Harry’s reflection trapped in the glass, and he spent more time focused on that than the city passing by before his eyes.

\---------

It had seemed as if Eggsy was almost unusually quiet on their way to the shop, but Harry hoped it was because he was thinking on his words. It was the best advice he could give someone in Eggsy’s situation. Someone that really had no clue the hell they were about to step into, the subtle plots and intrigues that laced through the court. The sometimes petty, yet sometimes brutal, things that could be said and done with just a few words.

But Eggsy could do it. 

He wasn’t entirely sure when he’d stopped thinking about him primarily as Lee’s son, or attributing everything to that fact, but he was starting to see that there were many more influences on the young prince than his father. Seeing the strength that he had, the way he’d refused to back down to his stepfather even at the risk of being harmed, had been enlightening. Yes, this could be the framework for the next great monarch. One he would be proud to serve. 

The car stopped and he was around to Eggsy’s door before he thought of it, surprised when it wasn’t already open. Almost cautiously he opened the door, surprised when Eggsy seemed to be waiting, letting out a mumbled thank you before approaching the door. He tested it but wasn’t surprised when it was locked, stepping aside so that Harry could lead the way in. “So what, is the fucking headquarters upstairs or something?”

“God no, there’s a meeting room but this is just the London base. We’ll be going to fitting room one, I believe you’ve been there before?”

He followed Eggsy back to the room, flicking on the light and closing the door before watching as Eggsy followed his actions in the mirror. “Is this it?”

His lips curved upward and he reached out, placing his palm flat on the mirror to be scanned, Eggsy’s mouth gaping as he watched then turning his head quickly to look around as the floor started to lower. “Kingsman has been using tailor’s shops as a cover for over a century,” Harry remarked calmly, proceeding into the further history of the organization and the structure with the knights as he guided his charge to the tube, having Eggsy sit down before taking his own seat.

It wasn’t a short trip out to the countryside but it went quickly enough. Somehow there was always something to talk about, some question to be answered, and, to put it simply, it was easy. Eggsy was naturally inquisitive, but also genuine, delving into questions that were actually meaningful and listening carefully whenever he spoke, seemingly hanging onto every word. 

Already an ease had formed that he never allowed himself to have with a client, and he didn’t even know how it had happened, so there were few ways to stop it.

There was a certain pleasure to escorting his charge through headquarters, for a brief moment allowing himself to imagine bringing Eggsy here as a recruit, knowing that with the athletic skills the young man had had as a child would probably turn him lethal in short order.

“Galahad. And Prince Gary I presume?” 

He nodded to Merlin, watching as Eggsy seemed to tense up a bit at the title. “Yes. Eggsy, this is Merlin, the man behind the curtain.” Merlin gave a slight bow and he could feel Eggsy stiffen up, instinct having him put a hand on the small of Eggsy’s back. This was something he would need to get used to, the sooner the better.

Merlin brought up his clipboard, tapping a couple of times before speaking. “Gareth’s rooms are currently empty, and as they’re right next to yours I thought it might be for the best for the prince to stay there. If they’re not to your liking, well, we’ll see what we can do. It’s a pleasure to have you here. Galahad, I need to speak with you after he’s settled. Come by my office please? Good.” Bowing once more he started down the hallway, already lost to his clipboard as they moved on.

“Do you ever get fucking used to it?” He could tell that Eggsy was wondering aloud more than truly asking a question, and they had made it to the elevator leading up to the main house before he decided to answer.

“You learn to accept it, or I believe that most people do. You’ll need to. Anyone who doesn’t bow to you should either have your express permission, such as your mother, be higher in rank than you, and there are very, very few of those, the Queen primarily, or they are offering you offense. You’ll need to appear strong or they’ll press every advantage that they can.”

“Sounds fucking awful,” Eggsy groused, but then they fell into silence. He let Eggsy mull the information over as they made their way to the set of rooms that had been set aside, Harry opening the door and stepping inside to scan the room as a quick precaution before turning to Eggsy.

“If you need anything my rooms are the ones past these.” He reached into his coat pulling out his business card and a pen and scribbling down a number quickly. “This is my mobile number. I won’t be up here for a little while so if there are any pressing needs use this number. Put it in your phone now, that way you’ll have it.”

Eggsy plucked the card from his fingers, nodding at it. “Some kind of tailor,” he muttered. “Night Harry.”

He waited until the door was shut before making his way back to Merlin’s office, glad to see the tumbler with a couple fingers of whisky waiting for him. 

“MI5 has still got the stepfather. They’re willing to wait the full amount of time before releasing him, but I’ll be contacting Guinevere in the morning to see what protocol she wants us to follow. I’ll also see to it that his mother and half-sister are taken care of.”

“Thank you,” Harry said simply, and between the two of them that was enough. They’d worked alongside each other for years, which meant that if that had been all Merlin had wanted to talk about he would have just told him to put on his glasses or called his mobile. So he waited, savoring a swallow of his drink before Merlin spoke again.

“Obviously I’ve seen some of your day with him, when you chose to wear your glasses,” and Harry mostly just ignored the look he got for that. So a few times he’d taken the spectacles off. Point taken. “But you’ve spent time with him. Do you think he can pull it off?”

He didn’t answer right away. He knew his gut feeling, but Merlin would want his best answer, not just the first one to come to mind.

“Off the record,” he said slowly, looking down at the amber liquid he was gently swirling in his glass, “I think Valentine did us a favor. There’s potential in him I never saw in George or Edward.”


	4. Training Montage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tomorrow is my niece's 2nd birthday party, so I'm not entirely sure if I'll post or not. Trust me, her cuteness is really distracting. I hope you all enjoy! There were so many ideas I had for this part but I had to narrow it down or this fic would never end.

Morning meant a new day, and Eggsy was all about new beginnings. The sun was still merely considering getting up when he bounced out of bed, naturally wide awake. He decided to forego a shower because what he really wanted to do was run, and he’d just have to turn around and take one when he was finished. A good run to get rid of all the nervous energy that had built up the previous day and to clear his head. 

He was probably up for less than five minutes before he was out the door, stretching as he headed toward the first floor and what looked like a door to the outside. He popped in his earbuds as he set off at an easy lope to warm up, the pace eating the distance beneath his feet as he set off on what appeared to be a jogging path. Trust a house full of bodyguards to have their own track.

It was easy to slide into a steady rhythm, breathing in the brisk morning air and letting it out in even puffs, and he could have kept going easily when the sensation of being watched started creeping up his neck. His instincts told him to go faster and he pushed forward immediately before risking a look behind him and almost stumbling to a halt.

Harry Hart was dashing toward him, wearing apparently his pyjamas, crimson robe billowing around his legs. It was hard not to snicker as the older man neared. “Morning bruv,” he called out cheerfully, taking out his earbuds and sucking in lungfuls of delightfully clean air. “This track you lot’ve got here is fucking brilliant.”

Harry slowed down, striding toward him almost angrily and accenting each step with a word. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” The bodyguard was standing right in front of him now, and he could feel his smile falter, confusion flooding through him. “You can’t just go off alone Eggsy. Anything could have happened to you. The silent alarm was triggered and you were nowhere to be found, there are people combing the building and the grounds now. Shit, I've left my glasses on the table.” He pulled out his phone, apparently something he’d managed to grab or perhaps it was always in his pocket, and quickly dialed a number. “Galahad. I have him, he’s safe.” 

He dropped the phone back in his pocket, but it was all becoming clear. Now that the initial confusion was over it was easy to see that the Kingsman had been worried, shoulders taut, frustration almost radiating off of him but not managing to hide the lines of concern etched into his face. “My bad,” Eggsy said quietly. “Didn’t think it was a big deal way out here.” Then he shrugged, grin returning. “No clue about the alarm either or I’d have left a different way.”

“Cheeky,” Harry growled, and it almost sounded worse than a curse word coming from him. “You can’t just make assumptions like that anymore. If you want to take a morning run we can find someone who will accompany you.”  
Eggsy tucked the tidbit away, trying not to balk at the restriction to his freedom, and chose to answer in a different manner. He had been known to toe the line before, again and again in fact. “So, you want to finish this lap with me? I mean, I don’t know that house shoes are going to fucking cut it, but I guess you did catch up with me.” His eyes were twinkling and he ducked away almost instinctively, unaware of the way that Harry stiffened at the reaction.

“You’re almost halfway,” Harry replied almost grudgingly. “We might as well finish.”

Eggsy managed to keep up with him on the way back, but he was sweating and panting by the time they made it back to the house.

\----------

He was annoyed, and he showed it by giving Eggsy barely time for a proper shower before he told him he expected him to be down for breakfast, that their training would be starting immediately. It was a decision he somewhat regretted as it meant he was scrambling for his own shower, not having the time to enjoy his usual cup of tea that he preferred to accompany the gentle wake up call of his alarm. 

They had passed the dining room on their way in, and that was where he waited. He stood near one of the windows and looked out over the well manicured lawn, freshly showered but in a nice cardigan rather than a suit. More informal, but it was a nice change of pace. It had nothing to do with the desire to show that he wasn’t entirely formality and business, though his words would suggest otherwise. 

At least Eggsy was punctual if not early. He could work with punctual. Harry turned in time to see Eggsy plopping down in one of the chairs around the table, and he tried not to rub his temples. He had a feeling there would be time for that later. “Today I will begin training you in the art of being a gentleman,” he said after a moment, feeling it would do Eggsy some good to wait on him. 

“You got your fucking work cut out for you,” Eggsy said honestly, leaning back, legs sprawling, and Harry had to agree.

“Sit up straight,” he instructed, “now then, let’s begin with what you’ve already done wrong.” He could see the way that Eggsy bristled out of the corner of his eye, but that was fine. He was here to learn. “Manners and etiquette are important Eggsy. You will be judged on them, as will an entire nation.”

He let that sink in for a moment before moving on. “A gentleman waits to be invited to have a seat. Of course if there is a lady that you are with or that is next to you and not accompanied by a gentleman you should offer to help her with her chair before taking a seat yourself.” The bristling was giving way to realization, and it was an interesting transformation to watch. “When in the presence of Her Majesty one waits to sit until she has done so, and is invited to do so.

“One also never touches the Queen, except for if a handshake is offered.”

“Fuck.” He looked up sharply and Eggsy shrugged, spreading his hands. “Ain’t no one told me different, yeah? So I fucked up a couple things, no big deal. She didn’t seem too narked. You sure this is that important?”

This was going to be a long day.

He tried not to sigh too heavily. “It is, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. By the time we’re through training you’ll know the different ways to address Her Majesty and which form is correct at which time. Of course she is just one individual. We will also work on greeting other royals and commoners as well, and then we’ll have to discuss foreign emissaries and rulers. Naturally all of those categories include the protocols in terms of who to bow to and who to expect to bow to you, and how to accept those acknowledgements. We’ll discuss posture, dining protocols, conversation pieces, and we need to do this all within a fairly short amount of time. The Queen will wish to announce you as her heir quickly, and when she does you will be expected to be seen at formal events.”

It was a lot to lay on him all at once, but he wanted Eggsy to see the enormity of what they were going to be taking on, and even what he was spelling out wasn’t everything. There were the protocols for his own safety, and countless other nuances that he would need to know. “Now then, let’s get started with how to correctly consume a grape.”

The eyeroll he received was exactly what he’d been expecting, so he managed to keep his smirk to himself.

\----------

With Harry’s interruptions it took over an hour to eat breakfast, and the only decent part of finishing was that he was finally able to stand, looking forward to no one harping at him about how to sit. Naturally that was when Harry decided to teach him how to stand and walk properly, directing his feet and stance as if he was posing an award winning picture, speaking of lines running from his skull to the floor.

He managed to somehow figure out the right way to walk by making fun of a posh git he’d seen before, and while on one hand it was appalling that his parody was actually proper, on the other he was so relieved that he decided to just accept it, strolling from one end of the room to the other until Harry professed himself satisfied, actually smiling and Eggsy had to keep himself from staring.

Then, even though he felt like they had just finished breakfast it was apparently time for lunch. The soup course was a relief, he was able to copy Harry’s method of scooping away from himself easily enough, so he was able to focus on keeping his back straight while trying to carry on polite conversation.

By the time they got to pudding he was exhausted, staring down at the small tart as if it was personally offending him, and truly debating just lying and saying he was allergic to something in it. It would be a shame if he did, as it rather looked like the best thing he’d been served yet, but the temptation was still there, stronger than he’d like.

“You’ve made excellent progress Eggsy.” The words of praise were unexpected, and he looked over to see Harry setting down his knife and fork. “Shall we?”

He started beaming when Harry just picked up the treat with his fingers, biting into the crust and seemingly not minding the crumbs bouncing off his hand and raining onto the table. He picked up his own, holding it up as if he was offering a toast. “You ain’t half bad Harry,” he told him before he tucked into his own in earnest.

\----------

Despite the pressure and time constraints that they faced Harry knew that he couldn’t just fill Eggsy’s entire day with lessons. There had to be time to absorb the new information, to reflect, and he couldn't risk Eggsy getting burnt out after one day, not when these were things that would affect the rest of his life. The frustration he’d shown when he’d been facing his pudding had been enough.

On the other hand, he couldn’t seem too soft, and there was still much, much more to learn.

“We need to test your swimming capabilities,” was what he settled on. “Obviously if you happened to wind up in the water someone would immediately fish you out if they were able, but it would be good for us to know what your abilities are in case there were ever such an emergency. Perhaps someone firing on you in the water. There are also certain protocols you’ll need to follow if you are being rescued.”

Eggsy looked like he wanted to say something but then stopped himself, probably connecting the dots and seeing what this was. A break. “If I got to,” he settled on, but Harry could see the gleam in his eyes as he took a final gulp of water and stood up.

\----------

The last few days had been like nothing he could have imagined. His second morning (and each day afterward) when he opened his door it was to an agent stifling a yawn, the first day introducing himself as Percival and explaining that he was there to join him on his morning jog.

It was an eerie feeling having someone running behind him, but eventually he found his stride, not entirely comfortable with it but able to work past it.

That was the thing, unless he was in his rooms he was constantly with someone. It wasn't that he disliked the guards that he met but it was grating on his nerves. Knowing someone was constantly watching him, observing every mistake he made. By the time he got back to his rooms he just wanted to be alone, spending his time calling his mum and Ryan or sending increasingly ridiculous questions to Harry, grinning each time they were actually answered.

At least when it was Harry guarding him it felt halfway natural, so he was grateful when he finished up an afternoon of Merlin lecturing him on all forms of media from social networks to interviews to know that dinner would once again be with the older man. And if he had happened to pretend to be looking at some website function on his phone while Merlin lectured him while actually texting Harry asking him if there was a York Notes version of etiquette, well, no one could really blame him. He’d been rather delighted to see that Harry had replied, even if it was only to tell him to pay attention, but he’d managed to stealthily send off another five texts to Harry over the course of twenty minutes before Merlin actually caught him at it.

Completely worth it.

What he hadn’t expected was to see a young woman with Harry when he entered the dining room. “Right on time,” Harry remarked, and while he had a sneaking suspicion that Harry meant to caution him he merely grinned at him while trying to place where he’d seen this woman before. The palace he was pretty sure. “Eggsy, this is The Honourable Miss Roxanne Morton, her father is a baron, Lord Morton. She also happens to be our Lancelot. Lancelot, this is His Royal Highness Prince Gary.”

He managed not to make a face at the full title, realizing almost belatedly that she was bobbing a shallow curtsey to him and he dipped his head. “I prefer Eggsy,” he offered, hoping that this was one of the people he could convince to call him that. Every time he wasn’t called Prince Gary it felt like he had won a small prize.

“Roxy,” she offered back. “When I’m not on duty that is. Lancelot also works unless I’m supposed to be undercover.” She smiled at him, and it felt blissfully genuine.

“Lancelot has graciously agreed to dine with us to work on conversational skills and to go over the proper greetings for various ranks.” 

As he spoke Harry moved over to stand behind a chair, and after a moment Roxy drifted over the table as well, both looking at him expectantly until he joined them, taking the only place setting left, the head of the table. After another brief pause with nothing happening he swore. “Shit, I’m supposed to help you with your chair. Bloody hell.”

“No Eggsy, with your rank if you are leading the dinner you will need to sit down first.” Harry’s voice managed to sound both faintly exasperated and patient at the same time, and he nodded, taking a seat and the other two settling seconds behind him.

He still wasn’t comfortable enough with sitting and eating properly while carrying along decent conversations, so by the time he finished the soup course Harry and Roxy were deep in a discussion about world politics, something else Merlin was trying to give him crash courses on, though most of that knowledge would just have to be developed over time. At least he was a quick study on memorizing things and improvising if he had to.

A servant removed their bowls and replaced them with fresh plates. The plate had high ridges, but he was focused on what was nestled on top of it, completely losing track of their conversation. There was what appeared to be a small tray with individual cups holding shells, and with a sinking feeling he realized what this had to be. Escargot. He glanced up, uncertain, but Roxy was gesturing, Harry’s attention focused on her as he shook his head, apparently arguing a point. He knew to use cutlery from the outside in, that was the basic rule, but whether or not the tongs or tiny fork were for this course of whatever hell came next he wasn’t sure.

The idea struck him, and he decided to go for it. Maybe if the snails weren’t all separated and obvious he could hide that he wasn’t eating the majority of them, or something else would come to him. So he reached for the edges of the tray, flipping it over in a fluid motion and dumping the contents on the plate beneath.

Silence.

He glanced up to see both of the Kingsman agents staring at him, or, more specifically, his plate. Eggsy sucked in a breath between his teeth. “No what I was supposed to do?” he hazarded.

Harry’s face was still frozen when Roxy started laughing, an unladylike snort filling the air as Harry slowly brought his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. Looking over it was to see that Roxy was still laughing, but oddly enough she wasn’t looking at him, or his plate. Instead she had her phone trained on Harry, thumb beating a rapid staccato on the screen as she tried to regain control.

“Oh my god, I’ve never seen him like this. I think you’ve broken him, Eggsy.”

“Enough,” Harry said, trying to regain control of the situation, but Eggsy was already grinning, leaning over to try to look at her phone.

“Send those to me, yeah? That is fucking fantastic. Oh lighten up bruv, ain’t no one told me about eating snails and shit.”

“Oh, escargot isn’t bad,” Roxy said, passing over her phone so he could enter his number, which he did while purposefully leaning away from Harry who looked as if he was seriously considering destroying the object from where he sat. “They’re almost normal compared to some things that will be presented to you, and they at least taste decent if cooked well. A spot of advice that my mum gave me when I left home is what I always keep in mind with this sort of thing. When in doubt just close your eyes and swallow.” 

She winked, and he gaped at her, catching sight of Harry out of the corner of his eye just shaking his head.

By the time they were on the main course (he was learning how to pace himself with each course so he could manage to eat enough to not offend anyone) he was pretty sure Roxy was one of the best people he had ever met. Harry seemed almost resigned, the polite conversation he had probably imagined as another training session lost to the wayside.

“So was you involved in the fucking Valentine’s Day shit then?” He had to ask, because while Harry had made reference to Kingsman being involved as an effort to rescue the queen he didn’t talk much about it.

“It was my first mission actually,” was her answer before she closed her mouth, looking over to Harry only for him to motion that it was fine for her to continue. “It was insane. I was almost sent to the edge of the atmosphere to take out a satellite but one of the other agents volunteered, knowing I’m rather shit with heights you see. So I was actually one that went to Valentine’s base. We didn’t know that that was where all of the captives were being kept until I happened to stumble upon a princess’ cell.” There she broke off, face tinged carnelian.

He raised his eyebrows at that, voice teasing. “Did you get a kiss? Ain’t everyday you get to kiss a princess.”

By the way her eyes darted almost guiltily to Harry and back he knew he had his answer, because if he’d kissed a princess on a mission he wouldn’t want to admit it either. The purse of his lips was knowing and somewhat smug as he lifted his wine glass for a sip, wishing it was a nice ale instead.

He really wasn’t surprised when Harry started quizzing him about the wine, for now letting him slide on exact vintages but questioning its level of dryness (it was wine, of course it was wet, not that Harry appreciated that observation) and the like.

The grilling took them through pudding and into dessert, the elegant fruit platter and tiny finger bowl seemingly delighting in how stuffed he felt as Harry set aside his napkin.

“Escargot aside, I believe this was a very successful meal in terms of etiquette.” Harry was watching him closely and he could tell that there was more to be said. “Tomorrow we’ll be revisiting the tailor shop to pick up your wardrobe, and then we’ll be headed back to Buckingham. The Queen intends to hold a press conference at nine thirty, after breakfast and the ceremonial bagpiping, then there will be the formal dinner at eight which quite a few of the remaining nobility have been invited to attend, as well as invitations extended to some foreign royalty and dignitaries.”

“Fuck,” he said, collapsing back into his chair and staring at Harry. The day after tomorrow. “I ain’t going to remember half this shit,” he said, eyes widening. “How the fuck do you even greet foreign royalty?”

“Lancelot and I will both be with you. Lancelot will be further down the table but I’ll be seated next to you.” He glanced over to Roxy who was giving him a reassuring smile before Harry’s words sunk in and he snapped his eyes back to him.

“Wait, this whole time you knew as my bodyguard you was going to fucking sit next to me and you wasn’t going to let on?” His voice hinted at the betrayal he felt

Harry shook his head slightly. “Percival will be your official Kingsman bodyguard tomorrow night.”

“But you, I mean,” he looked back over to Roxy. “I mean Roxy is some nobility or shit, yeah?”

“As is Galahad,” Roxy piped up, voice light and helpful, and if Eggsy had been paying more attention, dripping with feigned innocence. “Didn’t Lord Hart tell you he was a viscount?”

“No he fucking didn’t,” Eggsy murmured, and it was the first time that he’d seen Harry look almost sheepish. Of course he was fucking nobility. How could a gentleman like him not be? 

“Kingsman often has some agents from among the lesser nobility, it makes it easier to blend in during social functions. Ordinarily I’d never sit so close to the Queen but there should be enough people that remember that your father and I were friends to excuse the seating arrangements.”

“Back up just a mo,” Eggsy was staring intently at Harry now. Harry, who along with being frustratingly close to perfect at times, was also a viscount. “You mean that you knew, all along, that you’d be sitting fucking close enough to whisper tips if I forgot, and you didn’t say nothing?”

He should have expected the almost bland smile that Harry gave him. He really should have.


	5. Cheers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My niece is now 2 and hella cute! I posted on tumblr (Galahard there as well) that I have my final observation for the year tomorrow at work, which is usually stressful, so IDK if this will update tomorrow or not. Just a heads up, I'll do my best!

While Harry preferred quiet, leisurely mornings and waking up to a steaming cuppa and perhaps the morning news, this morning he was up and about, hair perfectly coiffed and suit pristine as the driver dropped him off at Buckingham. He nodded to Kay upon his arrival at Eggsy’s guestroom, temporary quarters until the announcement could be made, and then rapped on the door.

Eggsy opened the door mostly dressed in the clothing Harry had set out for him, a blue pinstripe exactly like one he wore, though he had chosen a classic black number for himself. By the look of relief in Eggsy's eyes and the haphazard way his tie was draped about his shoulders he could surmise why he wasn't entirely ready as he stepped into the room. “Good morning Eggsy.”

“Thank fuck you’re here Harry. I was about to pull up a clip online to try to figure this shit out.” He tossed his phone back on the bed, pulling the tie off and handing it to Harry with a plea in his eyes that the older man couldn’t resist.

“Pull the chair over in front of the mirror,” Harry murmured, trying desperately not to think of the last time he’d said that. That had been an assignment for information they’d desperately needed. Yet it was almost as hard to concentrate on what was happening, which was Eggsy obediently following his instructions, not even questioning him before sitting down, eyes curiously following him in the mirror as he approached to stand behind him. 

The prince would be able to see his method better this way he told himself, flipping up the collar of Eggsy’s shirt and laying the tie around his neck slowly. “This is a Windsor knot, Eggsy. A last name you may not be required to take over, but it will be a good acknowledgement of the connection. You only need a short amount of cloth on the left side you see, then just tuck it underneath the right.”

He made sure his movements were slow, pausing when necessary as he pulled the long end through the opening from behind, laying it to the right of the small tab left from the short end of the length of silk before pulling the sides parallel. He risked glancing into the mirror to see if Eggsy was still with him only to catch the young man glancing down, looking almost guilty, and he couldn’t think about that. Instead he worked on pulling the tie behind and then pushing it back through the opening by Eggsy’s throat, creating an elegant v with the knot while he continued to explain his actions. Steadily he pushed the tie across the front, creating the standard smooth look one would expect before creating the final loop.

Harry took his time loosening up the knot to slip the wide bit of fabric between the opening he’d created. Finally he tucked the short end underneath and tightened the knot, gentle but firm before smoothing down Eggsy’s collar.

Now all he really needed to do was break the silence that had begun as he had finished the knot, and they would be good, but words were skittering past him, out of reach.

“Is Ryan and my mum here yet?” Eggsy asked, and Harry latched onto the subject with more relief than he should have felt. 

“Lancelot just went round to fetch them, they’re on their way now. Now then, let’s go over your schedule shall we?” Eggsy stood up and nodded, padding over to find his shoes and Harry took the time to move closer to the window, casually taking a look outside to see if there were any weak defenses.

“Your mother is being debriefed now, and both she and your sister will be sitting down to breakfast with you, the Queen, and the Prince. After breakfast the Queen enjoys the royal bagpipes,” he didn’t manage to hide his smirk at Eggsy’s cringe, “and then you will be moved to the room adjacent, where the press conference is being held. Your bodyguard throughout all of this will be Kay, who is waiting outside your room now. After the press conference you’ll be escorted back here until tonight, and a tray will be brought here for lunch.”

“You sure I ain’t a fucking prisoner?”

“You’d best get all of your cursing out of your system now,” he replied mildly. “The press is going to have a field day with this as it is. We need to contain what we can and let the release of information be on our terms. It will be for the best if the people at dinner don’t have excessive information when they arrive, and in particular misinformation.” He turned back toward Eggsy, crossing over as the younger man stood and put on his suit coat, buttoning it but glancing longingly over to his snapback. “Let’s have a look at you.”

Eggsy watched him as he brushed a speck off his lapel and adjusted his tie, stepping back before shaking his head. “Your pocket square,” he murmured, finding the bit of silk and folding it to tuck into the pocket. Then he finally stepped back to admire the figure that he cut. “Every inch a prince.” He tried to project confidence into his words, hoped they would help to relax Eggsy, and he wasn’t expecting the quiet question that came next.

“Are you going to be there? At the press conference?”

“Not with you, but I”ll be in the room. All they expect is for you to be present while the Queen introduces you, and it might be nice to wave or smile. Remember, Eggsy,” he paused and waited. Waited until the silence had gone on long enough that he had the young man’s full attention, eyes trained on him. “The most important thing is that you be yourself. You might not feel ready for this, but you are."

Eggsy ducked his head, fiddling with his sleeves for a moment before looking back up and nodding. Harry watched as the young man straightened into the posture he'd been drilling into him, head lifted proudly and a determined look in his eye. "They ain't going to know what fucking hit them," he promised. 

Harry agreed.

\----------

It was painfully easy to rely on Harry, which made it harder without him by his side. He knew he shouldn’t be so attached, no one stayed in his life but his own blood anyway, but it was fucking hard. Hard when someone was staring you in the eyes, serious and sincere, basically telling you you could rule the world. That you didn’t have to change everything to do so, just some of the outward nonsense people apparently cared about. 

So it was Kay who trailed after him instead, helpfully murmuring directions when otherwise Eggsy would’ve gotten helplessly turned around, and they still managed to find the right room and actually arrive early.

Not that he minded, as there were already two people in the room and despite his perfectly pressed suit he was rushing forward to scoop Ryan up, tossing her into the air with a laugh. "Oh my days, look how you've grown," he exclaimed delightedly, as if it hadn't been a mere few days since he'd last seen her.

Ryan settled against him easily and he turned to his mum, beaming. She looked like she was about to cry, and he never wanted to make her cry. Even if it wasn't necessarily for a bad reason.

So he let her hug him, looping an arm around her in the process. "Look how handsome you are," she marveled, stepping back to get a good look of him. 

It was easier to preen a bit for his mum. “Looking good,” he told her cheerfully. Seeing them made everything feel complete, helped soothe a part of him he didn’t know was worried. “Sorry to uh, spring this on you. Guess dad was bloody good at keeping secrets, yeah?”

“Only Lee,” she said, voice filled with exasperation, but also the usual mixture of fondness and hints of sadness that normally went along with anything she said about his dad. “I never pressed him about his family but I never thought,” she actually looked a bit flustered “I actually thought they’d kicked him out. Like it hadn’t been a choice.”

He didn’t have much to say to that, and he wished he did, because now she was looking at him as only she could do, when she wasn’t distracted by anything else. “But are you okay with all this? Being the prince sounds nice and all but is it what you want? Your dad chose to walk away.”

He knew she was worried, but even as extreme as all of this seemed, he couldn’t imagine going back to a week ago. Being a worthless nobody who couldn’t even protect his own mum, who feared leaving home because he knew who the next victim would be. If he could be someone that actually mattered, someone that people gave a fuck about and might actually listen to, maybe he could put a stop to some of that shit. Maybe there’d be one less person out there who’d rather be walking down shady as fuck alleys in the dark than to be at home. “Yeah, I’m okay with this. There’s some brilliant perks mum,” he said teasingly, trying to think about the visit to the gun range to learn some basic methods in case of emergencies rather than mahogany eyes with accents of whisky.

The door opened and they both turned, side by side with Ryan between them, as the Queen herself was escorted in by her husband. His grandfather he realized. “Mum, I’d like you to meet my grandmother, Her Majesty the Queen.”

\-----------

The speech was what he had expected. The Queen had the attention of the full Commonwealth, and much of the world, so she put it to good use, speaking of nations standing firm despite certain foundations being shook to their very core. He stood near the back of the room, behind the seated reporters and between two camera men, proud as always to serve his country.

Anticipation was almost palpable in the room, but she would not be rushed. Her voice was steady and confident, rolling through the room as her speech began to transition to what they were all interested in.

“Countless nations were thrown into chaos during the Valentine’s Day Massacre, and Great Britain was not without it’s losses. My sons were lost on that day, their children alongside them. Blame can be pointed in different directions, but it has left the question of my successor to rampant speculation.” She looked less than impressed as she took the time to scan the room.

“Seventeen years ago my second child, Prince Leon, was laid to rest. He died while in service to the Marines, leaving behind his young wife and his son. Therefore today I am presenting my grandson, Great Britain’s heir apparent, His Royal Highness Prince Gary Lee Unwin, Prince of Wales, Earl of Chester, Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.”

He was glad flash photography had been banned, the gasps and murmurs were distraction enough as Eggsy entered the room, striding over as he’d practiced to bow to the queen, accepting her nod of acknowledgement before turning to the press, looking over the small crowd. He couldn’t ignore the rush of pride as he looked at him, how composed Eggsy was, the way he managed to give off the impression that he had always belonged at the queen’s side.

Even across the room it was easy to tell when their eyes locked, not more than a split second, but he could see the grin stealing across Eggsy’s face, knowing that the smile more than anything would win over countless individuals. Satisfaction welled up within him as he tore his eyes away, scanning the crowd. He wasn’t necessarily looking for potential threats, for now focused on anyone that might seem disgruntled, someone that might prove to be a problem later on. Being a bodyguard meant that it was always best to be prepared, to be one step ahead of the game, and for now people seemed too surprised to react too strongly one way or the other.

People were clamouring for Eggsy to speak however, manners starting to be lost as the realization of how momentous this announcement was began to sink in. He watched as Eggsy turned his head to murmur something to her majesty before stepping up to the mic.

He looked across the audience once more then settled his eyes on Harry, voice confident with a touch of playfulness as he addressed the crowd. "Cheers."

That was it. He was stepping away and Harry couldn't help quirking his mouth up as Eggsy left the room, leaving the press hungry for more.

\----------

Leaving the press conference had been easy enough, and it wasn't until he was alone in his room, bored out of his fucking mind, that everything began to sink in. His phone he’d abandoned on the bed after replying to his two actual mates, the constant buzzing and ringing as the news hit more obnoxious than he could have imagined, and as ridiculous as it seemed he was probably going to have to request a new phone number.

The worst was over though, at least for the morning, and it actually hadn’t been that bad. It would have been easy to be overwhelmed by the strangers staring at him, judging him, but there had been steady eyes ready to meet his own, a quiet assurance that someone in the room was on his side. 

That was when it finally clicked, and he’d had to hide his revelation while millions of eyes were probably trained on his face. 

Trust. He trusted Harry. Not simply trusting him to do his job and keep him safe, or even believing what he taught him, but actual trust. 

He wasn’t used to that. 

At noon there was a knock on his door and he called out for whoever it was to come in, starting to hoist himself up from the bed as the door opened. He’d expected someone bringing his lunch, but when he’d pictured the person he’d seen some faceless servant curious to get a good look at him. Instead it was Harry entering, door pushed open by Kay, the older man laden down with a tray and a box tucked under his arm.

It was the box that had his attention, an incredulous smile working it’s way onto his face. “Jenga?”

“I would have preferred Cluedo,” Harry mentioned as he set the tray down on the edge of the bed, “but it doesn’t work with only two people, and I thought that chess might be a bit much.”

“This works. I’m fucking ace at Jenga.” Well, he had been when he was in primary school, but he couldn’t resist bragging, looking up to see a challenging gleam in Harry’s eye.

By the time their tower toppled under his fingers he was laughing, lunch demolished, worries distant as he helped Harry pick up the pieces that had skated off the table and littered the floor.

“Best two out of three?”


	6. Nicely handled

Harry had left well before dinner, needing to leave so he could make his own entrance, promising he would be at the dinner party and making sure that Eggsy would manage his transition into white tie attire on his own before he left.

It was almost a relief when it was time to go down to the dinner party, waiting would never be his strong suit. When he finally did open the door to see Kay standing there, now joined by a MI5 agent, he couldn’t help but cringe. “They got you here all day? Sorry bruv.” 

“At least I didn’t have to chase after you in my slippers,” Kay said, voice absolutely flat but the corners of his mouth were twitching and Eggsy stared at him for just a moment before his face split into a grin.

“Sorry, I ain’t kept you on your toes. You got a break though, yeah?” When the man nodded he was satisfied and started down the hallway. “Let’s do this then.”

“You may want to go in the other direction then,” Kay pointed out, voice still entirely bland, and Eggsy turned on his heel.

“Just testing you.” He tried to sound as cocky as could be but did flash a grateful smile over his shoulder as he made his way down.

This had all been choreographed so that he would arrive with barely any time to spare before it was time to go into the dining room, mingling kept at a bare minimum. Roxy was nearby as soon as he entered the room, walking past when a duke approached and murmuring who he was as she breezed by so he was able to at least use the correct forms of address.

Still by the time the doors opened he’d been bowed or curtseyed to at least twenty times that he’d noticed, now actually appreciating the feeling of an agent watching over him. There had been diagrams and everything showing him how to find his seat, as if sitting at the left hand of the queen at the head of the u-shaped table in the ballroom was a difficult concept, but now he was grateful to move forward with ease, striding to his chair and standing behind it. His hands were tucked behind his back as Harry moved in beside him, facing down the long row of the table in front of him. “Will they ever stop staring,” he muttered under his breath, surprised when the older man actually answered.

“Not until the third course. Caviar distracts them every time.”

He could barely see Harry’s lips move when he tried to look at him from the corner of his eye and in the end he just turned his attention to the Queen’s entrance.  
Through the fourth course he spoke with his grandparents and with the arrival of the fifth course he turned his attention back to his food.

It looked to be a perfectly cooked cut of lamb, and that was something he wouldn’t mind eating with gusto. Instead he forced himself to take the small, measured bites that were now expected of him.

There was barely a swallow of wine left in his glass and as he cut his next bite the waiter moved in to refill the glass.

He could see it get knocked off balance in slow motion before falling toward him, miraculously not breaking as the crystal landed, wine pooling onto his plate.

Stammering the waiter apologized, reaching out to right the glass but that was the only sound in the room. Everything else had gone silent and still, and he could feel eyes trained on him.

So he shrugged, lifting his fork and popping the bite of lamb into his mouth, trying not to drip wine on the table in the process. He chewed and swallowed, nodding his head and trying to think of what Harry would say, how Harry would say it. “I’ve never had lamb like this, it’s quite good actually.”

Then he reached over for Harry’s glass, aware that he probably wasn’t supposed to reach that far but doing it anyway, and poured the contents into his plate while giving Harry a wink. “There. Try it, you’ll have to admit it’s pretty f--brilliant.”

Harry looked between him and the plate and without question cut off his own bite, sampling the lamb while Eggsy looked on, trying not to grin but rather delighted. “Curious. It was juicy before but this is a different dimension to the dish, and I believe you’re right that it heightens it.”

The room was starting to buzz again with conversation, mostly whispers as Eggsy took another bite, and then from his right he heard “Well, I’d best have a go at it then.” 

He managed to look over in time to see his grandmother drench her lamb in her wine, the effect rippling out as half the people in the room almost knocked over their glasses while they scrambled to pour them onto their own plates.

When everyone had finally started to turn their focus back to dinner the Queen leaned over. “Nicely handled,” she murmured, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

\---------

The room had shifted, the humour of the situation and the light-hearted resolution soothing some nerves.

It was astounding really. Something like that shouldn't have worked. There were obvious ways of recovering from such an incident but to come out ahead? It was nothing short of miraculous. He couldn't help but think of what he had told Merlin. Now he was seeing that potential unfolding before his eyes, could hear the Queen's approval and see Eggsy relaxing. He had this.

They were going to pull this off.

"Eggsy," he said softly, drawing the young man's attention to him before realizing he didn't really have a reason. It had been a whim, nothing more, but now curious eyes were looking at him expectantly, waiting. Eyes that he had wanted focused on him he realized. He had wanted the attention.

This wasn't like him. Everything he did was thought through and he was finding himself at a loss, words dancing out of reach and refusing to form a comprehensible sentence.

The silence only stretched on for a few seconds before Eggsy tilted his head slightly. "Yes Harry?"

He turned his attention back to his food, hating this feeling, not sure how this could be happening when he was always quick on his feet. Necessary for the job. "You--is there anywhere you'd like to go outside of the palace? Roxy had suggest that perhaps a small venture into the city in a few days might be a good distraction."

Eggsy had taken his cue, focusing on his own food for a moment, and if he found Harry's query awkward or oddly timed he didn't say anything.

"Might be a good change of pace," Eggsy agreed readily enough. "Don't really need nothing though." Harry glanced over in time to see a slightly guilty expression steal over his face, voice dropping so low that Harry had to strain to hear him. "Fuck, forgot we was in public for a mo."

He cleared his throat as if he could clear away the accent, and the last thing Harry wanted was for him to feel self-conscious. They had already made it this far.

"It's quite alright Eggsy," Harry tried to reassure him, appreciating the flash of gratitude in his prince's eyes.

"Maybe we can pick something up for Ryan? She's been through a lot the past week."

It was one of the last things that Harry would have expected Eggsy to say, but now that he had said it it made perfect sense. He couldn’t fully resist the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he speared another morsel of carrot and brought it up, chewing slowly as he set his utensils down to signal his plate could be taken away.

“Very well. The prime minister has requested a private introduction tomorrow, but perhaps we can start to arrange the details after that.”

“Start?” Then Eggsy shook his head, setting down his own utensils. “Don’t answer that, I probably don’t want to know.”

\----------

Even with the practice dinners he hadn’t been prepared for the sheer number of courses. He was glad that he naturally could pack away food but he had no clue how Harry was managing when the sixteenth one was finally served and the bodyguard barely batted an eyelid.

He had to focus on his plate, trying not to think of the fact that despite being at a dinner with nobility from all over the world, sitting next to the fucking Queen of Great Britain, he wasn’t even worried about them. No, instead he was fixated on the man next to him, trying his fucking best not to fixate on the strong fingers curled delicately around silver, the easy grace of even his simplest movements, helplessly flashing back to those same hands removing wooden rectangles from a game just hours before. Absolutely refusing to dwell on the memory of those fingers twisting delicate silk around his neck that morning. Harry Hart was a menace to his ability to concentrate.

Dinner ending should have been stressful, as it meant getting up to mingle, to bow and nod his head, shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries whether or not he actually felt them. Instead it was a relief. He needed to move, needed something else to focus on if only for a few minutes.

Minutes sped by as he met person after person, Harry or Roxy always fairly near just in case, but it was easy enough. It was easy to pull the wool over people’s eyes, especially when they wanted to believe you. That he’d learned long ago. Swearing to his gymnastic coach that he preferred football and wanted to give it a go, so he didn’t have time for tumbling or vaulting any longer. In the nurses’ office in high school, swearing that the bruised ribs had come from a skateboarding accident. 

The press of people lessened, some people starting to drift home, and he found himself face to face with a pretty blonde woman, smiling as she dipped into a shallow curtsey that he returned with a small bow. “Good evening.”

Her voice had a pleasant lilt to it, her smile genuine enough, and he found himself already starting to like her. “Prince Gary yes? I am Princess Tilde.” She offered her hand and he shook it, belatedly wondering if he was supposed to kiss it instead and ignoring that.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he offered.

“Thank you for the lovely dinner,” she countered, then smiled. “The duchess sitting across from me almost had a heart attack when she realized everyone was pouring their wine into the lamb. It would have made a perfect snapchat but I didn’t have my phone out.”

He laughed, and from there it was surprisingly easy to fall into conversation with her. Within a few minutes though her eyes no longer seemed focused on him, instead moving through the crowd, searching as she continued to converse.

Eggsy fell silent, waiting to see if she would react and gave her a minute before speaking up. “Looking for someone?”

She started almost guiltily, blushing slightly. “I thought,” she shook her head, “never mind. I thought I saw someone I knew, but it couldn’t be her.”

“Yeah? What’d she look like?”

As he listened to the description he couldn’t help but start to scan the crowd himself, suspicion growing until at last he found who we was looking for. Roxy was all the way across the room, turned away from them, but as he looked he saw her cast a glance over her shoulder.

“Do you mean Lady Roxanne? Roxanne Morton? That one over there?” He managed to not point, remembering last minute it would be a horrible faux pas that Harry would never forgive him for (more realistically he would abandon him to one of Merlin’s lectures to teach him a lesson) but rather than following the princess’ eyes he watched her. He knew his suspicions were right when she froze, face and neck flushing, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit smug.

“So you’re the princess,” he said quietly, loud enough that only she would be able to hear. “You want a formal introduction or something? I can hook you up.” So maybe it wasn’t the most proper thing he’d said all night, but he was relaxed and actually enjoying himself. A Scandinavian princess that was both hot and amusing with more than a passing interest (it seemed) in his second favorite bodyguard? He’d be willing to help that along.

“I couldn’t,” she said, voice full of regret. “Not tonight at least. Lady Roxanne you said?”

“Yeah. Look, why don’t we swap phone numbers? If you change your mind just let me know. I’d be happy to introduce you.”

“I could do that.” Tilde was quick to agree, reaching into her clutch almost before he had time to see the flaw in his plan.

“Shit. Fuck. I mean. Let me start over. I have to get a new phone, I don’t know the number yet.” He was actually regretful as he spoke.

“That’s not a problem,” she said airily, pulling out a fancy piece of paper that turned out to be the invitation to the night’s dinner and jotting down a number on the side. “When you get your new phone just text me.”

He took the number from her, grinning and for the first time feeling like he’d met someone tonight he actually wouldn’t mind talking to again. “Sounds like a plan.”

“Oh, I’ve taken up too much of your time. It’s been a pleasure meeting you Prince Gary.”

“Call me Eggsy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with this we should be almost halfway! I wound up doing a bit of tweaking to my outline (this was originally part of chapter 5) so right now it looks like 12 chapters plus an epilogue, so really 13. I'm not going to change that officially on the fic yet in case I make more changes, but if you wanted to know how long this would last that should hopefully give you an idea. So maybe finished sometime around next weekend? Friday nights are normally my night out with friends so it's up in the air as to whether or not there will be an update tomorrow!
> 
> I do still have this fic marked as Explicit, and you guys are probably all feeling like I'm a tease, but it's definitely planned so I'll be leaving that in place.


	7. Don't worry, I got this

The past few days had been exhausting, and he at least had time off. Not that he took much of it, finding himself loitering at the palace when he ordinarily would have already been home, flipping through the paper while enjoying a nice whisky before turning in. 

Eggsy didn’t have the same luxury of time. Harry helped to escort him from meeting to meeting, lunch with the prime minister, going over legal documents with the royal family’s lawyers, lessons with professionals that knew miniscule things about etiquette that not even Harry had heard of. Those were the types of activities that Harry made sure he was on duty for, as he could apparently sense when Eggsy was done well before his tutors could. So he would cut in, insisting they had somewhere else to be, basking in the warm smiles of thanks he received as they took the most roundabout pathways possible to the next meeting.

On the other hand, he always seemed to take his breaks at the most opportune times, such as when it came time to move Eggsy into his official set of rooms, and all of the gifts that had been sent had to be relocated.

Today was the day though, the day where he had carved the afternoon and evening away from the various individuals attempting to claim Eggsy's time. It meant they had little time to do more than nod at each other in the morning, Eggsy needing additional coaching to actually speak at a press conference in a few days time, but now there were a few minutes where he could try to outline what to expect before they would have to part ways again. 

Because there was a lot to expect. They'd mentioned it before, and at least Roxy would be with him, but he still had the very real concern that Eggsy had no idea what he was getting into. Royals and politicians could be snobs, but he sometimes questioned whether or not Eggsy gave a shit about them.

The public could be brutal.

So he waited outside the dining room for Eggsy to finish lunch, wordlessly falling into step with him as he exited. It was easy enough to tell himself that they were going to be talking, therefore it made sense to be at his shoulder rather than keeping pace behind him as any bodyguard should do in this sort of situation.

"They said I still ain't talking proper," Eggsy grumbled. "I swear he wouldn't give a shit if I said I buggered a sheep if I said it posh enough." He raised the pitch of his voice, mockingly saying just that.

Harry caught himself watching the prince fondly before wiping the ridiculous smile off his face, but he feared not before Eggsy had noticed. He bought a second by clearing his throat instead. "I have a meeting this afternoon with Merlin and Ector, so I’ll be unable to accompany you. Percival will be taking care of things.”

The look on Eggsy’s face could only be described as guilty. “It ain’t about my unsupervised visit to the gardens is it? Cause he ain’t to blame, and it was just the fucking gardens.” 

He sounded a bit more confident by the time he finished, but Harry still wasn’t impressed. At least now they had tracers on him, so they hadn’t had to call out a full search party, but he’d still experienced the rush of panic waiting for someone to confirm a visual. Panic he hadn’t felt toward any such situation with his other charges, past or present. “Not entirely.”

Harry let that sink in, hoping that maybe the fact that Ector had been pulled into a meeting with both him and Merlin would at least make Eggsy think next time. There would come a time when Eggsy might be able to walk the gardens alone and unconcerned, but as the Queen’s only direct heir and the upheaval his appearance had caused that time would not come soon.

“I’m sure Percival will go over all of this, but there are a few things to keep in mind when you go out. If you’re recognized, and you likely will be, the paparazzi are going to swarm. It’s a simple fact, one I wish we could avoid, but that’s the truth of it. Remember, stay calm, don’t give them any ammunition, and they’ll go away soon enough or Percival and your MI5 agent will get you to the car. Whatever you do, try not to lash out.” 

Eggsy sped up and Harry fell back slightly, uncertain and then the younger man was turning toward him, walking backwards as he went. “Don’t worry, I got this. Ain’t no big deal.”

For Eggsy’s sake he hoped he was right.

\---------

The sunglasses pressed against his temples, the sensation unpleasant. One small reminder that this wasn’t just another day with a friend, ducking into a shop. Of course it was different in the sense that he actually had money, meaning that he’d been able to purchase a stuffed dog he thought Ryan might like. A bulldog or something. The wrapping alone looked fancier than anything he’d ever gotten her before.

Now that his purchase had been made all they needed to do was make it back to the car, and their mission would be successful. He actually made it a bit past the entrance, the car turning the corner, before the swarming began.

There was no telling how they’d found them, but Percival was at his side, ordering people to move on, Agent Spencer at his back. Still, there were a number of them, and the number seemed to be attracting more. He kept his mouth closed, trying not to react but finding himself being slowly maneuvered sideways. People all around, pressing in, holding out pens and paper for autographs, trying to touch him, flashes half blinding him as the noise cascaded over him. Too much. It was too fucking much.

His legs bumped into a built up bit of stone, only coming up to around his knees, and he tried to remember it, risking a glance down. It was a ledge that ran round the building, gaps where there were doors, and it would have to be enough. Thank fuck he was wearing trainers.

It only took one large but fluid step to get on top of the stone, and then he was off. His feet pounded the thin pathway but his body knew what to do, leaning into the building as much as he could as his feet worked the narrow path. This was what he had missed, just getting out and doing something to do it, trusting himself. Ahead there was a bit of fencing between buildings, arranged to keep people from messing with the windows perhaps, and he tucked the box with Ryan’s toy under his arm, securing it so he could vault over the fencing, landing heavily on the other side and then dashing off immediately, trying to gain enough speed to get over the fence at the other end.

He risked a glance behind as he crossed the second fence, and he was still being followed. They’d had to work through people headed their way, or people starting to stare, but there were still plenty of paparazzi hoping to catch a story. Dickheads.

He kept going, dashing out into the street with barely a glance to the road and dodging around traffic to get to the other side. There were people in the way, and it was easier to use one of the buildings to his advantage, managing to pull himself up onto a ledge waist high and taking it around a corner before flipping off of it and darting into an entrance to the tube.

He hadn’t had time to get a new wallet, so he still had his oyster card, tapping it and slowing to a quick walk with his head down, hands shoved in his pockets and wishing his jacket had a hood. He took out his phone as he waited next to the tracks, willing everyone to believe he was just another person trying to catch the next train.

\--------

When his mobile and Merlin’s went off in unison to the emergency ringtone Harry’s heart dropped. Ector had already left and Merlin just set his phone on the table between the two of them, face up, answering it on speaker. 

“Merlin and Galahad present.”

“He ran off.” Even through the phone Percival’s voice was taut, and while Harry was frozen for a moment Merlin was already tapping away at his clipboard. 

“It looks like we lost a steady signal near the entrance of the underground, though it has come through a few times. He’s headed south on the blue line. Probably on his way toward Hammersmith now.”

Harry stood, “I’ll be off, what shape was he in when you last saw him?”

“He outdistanced all of us, I had no idea he was capable of that.” Even through the frustration Harry could sense that the agent was impressed, but he wasn’t in the mood.

“We’ll discuss how prepared you should be before you return to the field.” His voice had a bite to it, unleashing some of his stress on the hapless agent as he turned. He strolled out of the room, knowing Merlin would switch over to his glasses when he had any information for him as he tapped away at his phone, well aware he would have more luck getting a text to go through than a call if Eggsy was using the underground.

_Where are you?_

He didn’t run, but he made it to the street in record time, getting into one of the cars without waiting for a driver and thanking the fact that they’d met in London as he pulled away from the curb.

His fingers drummed the steering wheel as he drove, and every time traffic stopped he was flipping through his phone to open up the app and Eggsy’s tracer. Past Hammersmith now. A steady dot on the screen for several seconds before it winked out again and he swore, knuckles whitening as he clenched the wheel. 

He hadn’t made it all that far when his phone buzzed, the device declaring that it was too hot, hot damn, the nonsense Eggsy had managed to program into his mobile when he’d asked if he could check something while they waited on his new phone to arrive. He'd never been happier to hear the tune. “Yes?”

It was hard to keep the panic out of his voice, anxiety through the roof as he waited to see if it would be Eggsy’s voice or another, thoughts of the very real possibilities of either an abduction or a stolen phone had been plaguing him since Percival’s call.

“Harry?” The voice on the other end was definitely Eggsy’s and while that meant little, it was still enough to let him breathe. “You ain’t going to fucking like this, but is there any chance you could give me a lift?”

He wanted to hit his head on the steering wheel, that or reach behind the partition to snag a bottle of whisky and take more than a small swig, but this was a business matter. He had to remember that. “Code?”

Eggsy sighed on the other end of the line and he really could have said anything, all that Harry knew was that he didn’t hear oxfords not brogues. No call for assistance, Eggsy was safe. “Where are you?”

“It’s a gymnastics place?” Eggsy rattled off the address, and he took the next right. “I’ll just wait in the back, ain’t no one back there during work hours much. Just text me when you get here, yeah?”

“Stay on the line.” It was an order, not precisely protocol but it made sense if Eggsy wasn’t trying to remain silent to avoid capture. Just hearing the steady breathing in his ear was enough that he wasn’t zipping through red lights. 

Not that Eggsy stayed that silent. No, he filled the void with memories of his gymnastics days. It wasn't happy prattling but rather slow stories with an almost wistful edge to them. Learning to tumble and vault, disastrous first attempts on the parallel bars.

It still took longer than he would have liked to get to the place. The building was older but looked like it was kept up well enough, a decent walk from Eggsy’s childhood flat but not too far. It was far too telling that this was where he still ran to. The locale of some of his happiest memories despite how old those memories were. “The door is clear,” he announced.

“Give me a minute,” Eggsy grumbled, but it didn’t take long before he was swaggering out of the place and to the car, keeping his head down as he did so and carrying a slightly crumpled box under his arm. He crossed to get into the passenger seat rather than the back, and Harry didn’t say anything about it, hanging up his phone instead and pocketing it.

He waited until they had started down the street, doors locked, before speaking up. “That was a damn foolish thing to do.” His voice was tight again, and he refused to look over, needing to focus on the stress and anger that had built up and knowing that if he focused on the fact that Eggsy was here with him, safe, that he would feel far too much relief to properly chastise him. “Do you even realize how dangerous it is for you to be on your own? There are over eight million people in this city, and I can guarantee that not all of them are enjoying your discovery. We’re here to protect you, but we have to have your cooperation. Percival would have died to keep you safe, and from what I understand there was no immediate danger.”

“Easy for you to say,” Eggsy’s voice was almost petulant, and he risked a glance over, seeing the young man slouched down in the seat, arms folded across his chest.

“Seat belt,” he reminded him, seeing Eggsy roll his eyes before he drug his eyes away and refocused his attention on the road.

“Your lot is used to this shit. You grow up with it. It’s fucking insane is what it is. All them people touching you like you’re some bloody show dog and for what?”

He sounded faintly disgusted and Harry didn’t answer immediately, driving leisurely down the streets of London. “It’s not all fun and games,” he finally said, voice quiet in the car but he knew he had Eggsy’s attention. “There are few that actually enjoy and thrive on the attention, but many of us don’t. I knew we couldn’t properly prepare you, so it’s a decision you’ll have to make for yourself. Are you willing to put up with being paraded in front of the world? Every flaw, real or imaginary, laid out on display so that people who have never even seen you can judge you?”

“I don’t give a shit what they think about me,” Eggsy argued, “they just ain’t got no reason to.”

“I’m not going to argue with you over that. It’s simply going to happen. What you have to do is decide who’s opinion you do give a shit about. Obviously you don’t want to bait the paparazzi and the public, but at the end of the day who do you not want to disappoint? Who do you want to look at you and be proud of you? Admire you?”

The car fell silent again, and Buckingham was coming into view before Eggsy finally spoke. “If something like this ever happens again, would you still pick me up?”

“Always.” The word was out of his mouth before he thought about it, but the ring of truth spoke for itself.

\--------

It was clear that Harry wasn’t pleased at the idea of him going out that same night, but Roxy was insistent. “He can’t just hide out in the palace Galahad, the news of him escaping the paparazzi is already splashed all over the internet. The world needs to see Prince Gary out in public again, to know that he hasn’t run away entirely and to show that he’s not afraid of the public, that he can handle himself. We can’t change our plans.”

"Give me the details again."

Eggsy tried not to sigh, knowing Harry was concerned for him, wanting to protect him, but he knew the details by heart himself and he was confident Harry did too. He would be going to a small club with rather strict policies, he would have a more than double detail of security, an MI5 agent at both exits and both Roxy and Kay with him, and there would be a driver waiting with a third MI5 agent in the vehicle.

Nonplussed Roxy rattled it all off again, and he took the time to send off a quick text to a certain princess.

_9:00 boujis lady r will be there_

Hopefully she had a membership, and he pocketed his phone to see Harry looking at him, gaze calculating. "Fine. But there's no reason to stay later than midnight."

"Yeah, alright fairy godmother," Eggsy's quip was instantaneous and he could see Roxy trying to smother a laugh as he grinned cheekily.

"Come on Eggsy," Roxy started toward him, "let's get you into something proper for a club." She led the way out of the room, but he couldn't resist tossing a look over his shoulder on the way out and waving.

Honestly clubs weren’t really this thing, but they were definitely better than fancy banquets and press conferences, so he didn’t really mind getting dressed for it, or kicking back with Roxy until it was time to leave. And there was an entirely different feeling when you were walking into one, dressed to the nines with actual wings on your feet and a gorgeous (if platonic and lethal) bird by your side.

Walking in there was no complete silence, no awkward moment where all eyes turned to him, and it was a relief. Sure there had been a couple of paparazzi that had just so happened to be in the right place at the right time when they’d arrived, but nothing like the chaos from before. Roxy’s words rang in his mind. Drink slowly, watch your drink, and don’t drink too much as they started to approach the bar.

“Oi, there’s a table over there. I’ll grab your drink yeah and you can snag it? I got Kay with me, Kay won’t let me go no place.”

She hesitated but nodded. “Get me a Mai Tai,” Roxy added before disappearing, and he made his way through the crowd to the bar. There were a few curious looks at him, a couple of double takes, but he saw the familiar blonde hair he was looking for and made a beeline for the princess.

“Hey,” he shouted over the noise, smiling at her when she turned. “Rox has a table for us, I just need to get our drinks.”

“They’ll bring them to you,” she pointed out, and he shrugged. 

“Normally faster this way.” There was enough truth to that that she seemed to agree, flagging down a bartender with ease, and it made sense, they probably knew who she was.

“Mai Tai and whatever’s pale and on tap.” A few minutes later he was leaving what seemed like way too much money on the counter and snaking back through the crowd to go find their table, watching Roxy’s eyes widen when she realized who was with him.

The way she straightened in her seat, barely noticeable really, was as telling as if she'd tried to crawl under the table. Definitely the right princess. He set her drink in front of her, sliding into the booth next to her. “Roxy! Can I introduce you to Princess Tilde? Tilde, this is Lady Roxanne.”

“Are you serious?”

“Fuck yeah I am.” He didn’t even try to hide what he was saying. “She already knows what your hobby is, and you’re both big girls. Why not see where this goes?”

It was a bit awkward, but what half-blind date wasn’t? It didn’t take long before Tilde had them cracking up as her hands fluttered over the table, going on at length about the discos in Scandinavia she’d gone to during her early clubbing ventures. About the time they were finally exchanging phone numbers someone approached the table. He looked up to see a woman staring at him, looking a bit uncertain.

“Excuse me, but my friends and I were wondering, are you Prince Gary?”

He almost said no reflexively, almost not recognizing his own name, but he caught himself in time. “Yes I am.”

Her eyes widened. “Would you like to dance?” 

He’d seen the dancing in the club, and thankfully it was the sort of stuff he did know. He wasn’t exactly great, but he had enough rhythm that he wouldn’t completely embarrass the monarchy. “Why not,” he said with a casual grin, standing up and offering her his arm.

“Have fun!” Tilde called, and when he looked over several dances and partners later they were still in the booth, chatting and laughing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So from the very first like pathetic excuse for an outline I had this note for "parkours the fuck away from the paparazzi." Then I realized how much that really didn't work considering his car would be right outside the shop...but I did it anyways. The idea was going to be in the fic whether it wanted to be or not!


	8. Well Done

The day and evening away from the palace had seemed to do a world of good for Eggsy. The press and public were mollified that they now had something to go off of. The bonus being that after Eggsy had been seen in public, seemingly unaffected by his run in with the paparazzi that same day, they were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. His dash for freedom was now being viewed as a display of physical prowess, and young people in the hospital due to parkour injuries saw an immediate increase of twenty seven percent. 

Yet, if anything, the days just seemed to get longer. More meetings, more lessons, more everything on both ends of the scale. He had to spend a day or two away from the palace, trying to work with the new recruits, weeding out several more but seeing potential in the few left. They needed their round table full again, and even once they had their new ones knighted there would be a learning curve still to deal with.

It didn’t help that they were now having to teach them all what to do if their charge decided to go off on his own. Three times in less than a fortnight Eggsy had managed to cause an alert situation, their agents had to be better prepared.

He refused to think about the fourth situation. When Kay was the one on duty and Eggsy came strolling down the hall with a plate from the kitchens, no one even aware that he’d left to go get a midnight snack until his return.

Merlin needed him at headquarters, needed some of the senior members around, and it was hard to give him his time. But it wasn’t just him that had noticed Eggsy did better with him around. Lessons lasted longer, more information was actually retained, and if Harry himself taught something it was far more likely to be remembered. It didn’t take a genius to figure out why. Most of the instructors were judgmental idiots who looked down their noses, and Eggsy didn’t respect them. Harry couldn’t blame him. 

Which was why he was the one sitting down to breakfast with Eggsy, sipping from a mug of coffee rather than tea to try to wake up fully as he studied his eggs and toast. 

Eggsy sat across from him, rarely glancing away as he devoured his food. The simple fare seemed to suit him better, and during the meals or courses that were rather standard fare he tended to eat more. “How long we got?”

He didn’t even mind that Eggsy was talking around a mouthful of eggs, shoving another bite of toast into his mouth as he waited for an answer. “Another forty minutes until it begins. Then they want to immediately do a debriefing to nitpick at every single detail of the press conference so you’ll be better prepared next time,” he purposefully put every drip of disdain that he had for the idea into his voice, it was what it deserved, “and as soon as you finish lunch they want you to be involved with the details for the ball. Something about being aware of everything that goes into such an event."

“Fuck.” Eggsy stared at his plate, pushing a bit of crust over to the side with his fork. “I was stupid. I should’ve asked if I got vacation days before signing on for all this shit.” 

Harry simply hummed in response before taking another drink. "Now then, the official questions are the ones that you have already seen. So don’t feel as though you need to respond to anything other than those, as more will doubtlessly be asked. When you are finished simply stand up and that will put an end to it."

The rest of breakfast was filled with easy conversation, time slipping away until his phone buzzed and he glanced up, startled at the amount of time that had passed. He stood while dabbing at his mouth with his napkin, Eggsy wordlessly following his lead as they left the room.

They went to the same spot where he had left Eggsy for his first press conference and he turned to leave, to go to his place at the back of the room the meeting would actually be in.

"Ain't you going to tell me to break a leg or something?"

Harry turned and cocked his head slightly. "I don't think you need me to. I rather think you're fishing for compliments."

"Fuck yeah I am," Eggsy said, but he was grinning now and the expression suited him much better than the faint aura of nerves he'd had in the hallway.

"In that case I'll just give you the same advice I had given you before. Just be yourself. All you have to do is give them an opportunity and they'll adore you."

\----------

It wasn't fair when Harry said things like that and then got to walk away. Eggsy gaped after him, wondering how he could be that casual, flushed as he turned to take his place by the doorway and wait for the signal to go in.

He couldn’t help but look for Harry as he took his seat, taking a deep breath and reminding himself that this was no different than how they had practiced. Harry had prepared him for this, and when the press conference began it was easy enough to talk his way through it.

The questions chosen were straight forward enough, and he’d had time to formulate answers. Here and there were slips, bitten off curses, the stress of trying to keep his accent from shining through more vexing than actually answering the questions.

It took a couple of questions to get into the swing of things, and when he finally started to relax the result was almost instantaneous. 

“What do you think about living in the palace?” The question was one they’d accounted for, the response planned out and drilled into his head, and he glanced at Harry before opening his mouth.

“It’s really big, yeah? I’ve gotten lost a couple of times but everyone’s pretty brilliant actually so they point me in the right direction without giving me a hard time. Thanks for the help by the way.” There was a moment of silence before the laughter began, but it seemed as if they were actually laughing with him, not at him, and when he allowed himself to look Harry nodded in approval.

Maybe the media experts that worked with him would be appalled, but this was better. This was natural. He motioned for the next question, pushing aside his notes, and just tried to enjoy it all, smiling and winking into cameras when it was called for, grinning as he was asked about his half sister and the end came faster than he would have thought possible.

Questions were still being asked but he knew how to end this and started to stand, half out of his chair when one last query sounded out a split second after the rest. “What would make you a good ruler when you quit the marines?”

He sat back down, scanning the crowd that had went quiet to try to find the source. “Let me make one fucking thing clear. I liked being in the marines. I liked serving my country. But my mum wasn’t handling it well, not after my dad was killed while serving. So I made the decision based on what was best for my family. At the time it’d have been pretty selfish for me to stay in the marines, yeah? I think that’s what you’d want in a monarch. Someone who ain’t going to make decisions because they want to do something but thinks about other people. So I guess my quitting the marines is what shows you that I might make a good ruler someday.”

With that he stood, straightening his sleeves in the silence, afraid to look up, hoping he hadn’t disappointed Harry by answering some wanker’s question that was obviously trying to get a rise out of him.

His phone buzzed as he strolled out of the room and he quickly checked the text as they started to escort him away to his debriefing.

_Well done._

\---------

Once again time seemed to be leaving them in the dust, and now Harry found himself in the ballroom, checking through schedules as Eggsy worked with the dance instructor. The ball was in two days and yet the instructor had insisted they needed a third session and more than likely a fourth, going so far as to say she wouldn’t be to blame if the dance was unsuccessful.

It wasn’t like they expected much from the dance. A basic waltz, a few variations. Yet it didn’t take long to realize why things weren’t working well. The instructor was stiff and unyielding, and even from his seat at the edge of the room he could sense the way she seemed to be looking down at Eggsy, despite being shorter than him. When he looked up a minute later they were dancing, if it could be called that. Both of them were entirely stiff, Eggsy’s jaw clenched, and as he trod on her foot Harry could hear the snort of derision.

He saved his progress and stood, pocketing his mobile in the process. “Enough.” He was unable to keep the irritation out of his voice, further annoyed when Eggsy cringed and the instructor looked almost victorious. “You’ll never learn being taught like that.” He turned to the instructor, pleased to see that she was caught off guard. “Thank you, your services are no longer necessary. I will see to this myself.”

Eggsy’s look of relief did nothing to sooth his annoyance, but at least the source was walking toward the door. “Now then, why don’t we take a turn around the room and see where we need to begin.”

“You sure we got to waltz?” Eggsy was stalling, looking uncomfortable and not quite meeting his eye.

“What else do you propose for your opening dance with her majesty? A spirited tango? Breakdancing?” He raised an eyebrow and finally won an eyeroll and smile from Eggsy, tension leaking out of the young man that he probably wasn’t even aware of. “A waltz is classic, and, when taught properly, probably one of the easiest things you will learn.”

He could see that Eggsy wasn’t convinced but there was only one way to prove it. Stepping closer he held out his hand for Eggsy’s. “Put your left hand on my shoulder. I’m going to lead this round so just try to watch me and lets see how you do.”

There was barely any hesitation before there was a warm hand sliding into his, Eggsy’s hand going up to his shoulder as he reached back, resting his free hand over the prince’s shoulder blade. “Eyes on me Eggsy,” he murmured, raising their clasped hands to shoulder level before starting to count, voice steadily rising to three before starting over.

After a couple of counts, setting the rhythm, he gave a small nod and started them off.

It wasn’t perfect, not by a long shot. Eggsy wasn’t used to moving backward, but it only took a few measures before he started to catch on. Of course his feet weren’t taking the steps as precisely as someone who had practiced before, but Harry had danced with worse. “Very good,” he murmured, looking down at Eggsy as he slowed to a halt, hand drifting off of Eggsy’s shoulder and taking a step back to put a bit of distance between them, finding it hard to formulate his thoughts with Eggsy right up against him.

“Honestly? You have the basics. You aren’t hopelessly clumsy, quite the opposite in fact. We’ll have no problem finishing up your lessons.”

“You taking the piss? She said I ain’t no where near ready.” There was a bit of fire to Eggsy’s voice, and that was what he needed to hear. He needed Eggsy to be invested in some way.

“Perhaps you just needed a different partner,” Harry suggested, and then wished he hadn’t said anything. It wouldn’t be him dancing with Eggsy at the ball. “Or rather, not the wrong one. But leading is different than following, so let’s try this again with you taking the lead.”

By the time they had to stop so Eggsy could get changed for dinner his feet had been trodden on more times than he would admit, but the lessons were going along smoothly. In fact Eggsy had, for the most part, ceased staring down at his feet and was starting to relax, starting to accept the role of leading and trusting Harry to follow him.

“Tomorrow we’ll add music,” Harry suggested, and having Eggsy not react with apprehension was victory enough for now.

\----------

He’d never wanted to dance before. Sure, showing off some skills here and there wasn’t a bad thing, and moving to rhythm was something he could pull off, but there was a definite difference from going to the club to waltzing in some ballroom somewhere.

So the fact that he’d lain awake into the night, thinking about a warm body pressed to him, hands steady and a voice slowly counting in his ear. It was something he couldn’t really ignore any longer, the fact that Harry in particular was taking over his thoughts, waking and sleeping.

Even now he was looking forward to his dance lesson, and that was something he had never thought would happen.

It was even more obvious when he considered the fact that Harry had been at his side since before lunch, and yet he was still looking forward to being alone with him, a ready excuse to stare into his eyes while holding him close.

He hadn’t felt this nervous since he didn’t know when, more nervous than even his first press conference when he’d been introduced as the Queen’s heir.

Not that he'd let himself show it. No, he swaggered into the ballroom, hands shoved into his pockets, looking around before tossing Harry a cheeky grin. "What, no live band guvner?"

"I hadn't realized you wanted an audience." Harry's quip was instantaneous, and that was one of the things Eggsy loved about him. How quick minded he was and how he didn't hold back just because of who Eggsy was. Harry was real.

"It's all here," Harry said, holding up his mobile then tapping the screen, the first strains of music filling the air as he moved to set it down on the chair he'd occupied the day before.

"Shall we?" Eggsy wasn't waiting, determined to show Harry that he could take the lead. He could see the answer in the way the corners of Harry's lips lifted, the older man stepping toward him, hands already lifting into position.

It took a few minutes to to get into the swing of things, to figure out how to match his steps to the music, Harry making him start and stop until he could guide him into the music with ease.

He was finally starting to feel comfortable with it all, even able to guide his partner into basic flourishes and turns, when Harry began speaking.

"Of course during a ball it would be quite dull without also carrying on a conversation." Harry's voice murmured in his ear, their slightly offset position perfect for quiet conversation.

"Indeed?" He did his best, over-the-top posh accent. "Have you heard about the weather?"

Harry's hand squeezed his shoulder And he couldn't help but smirk, the expression only widening with Harry's response. "I've heard rumors about the rain in Spain actually."

"You saying I don't know how to talk proper?"

"I didn't realize you were trying to."

He did his best to do a real impersonation of how he was supposed to talk, forcing his accent away, taking care with his "th" and "g" sounds. “I believe you’ll find that I can speak quite as well as necessary Lord Hart, when the situation calls for it at least. I’ve also become quite accomplished at sitting for hours, breathing quietly, and not making overly bold statements about how rubbish some people’s opinions are.”

“I almost didn’t recognize you,” Harry said agreeably, letting himself be guided into a turn that would take them closer to the far side of the room.

“So you like it when I speak properly like this?” He was fishing for compliments, and he had a sneaking suspicion that Harry knew that, because Harry normally called him out on that kind of shit.

When Harry didn’t answer immediately it was confusing, and he stopped looking over Harry’s shoulders to look up at the older man, only to find Harry already staring down at him. “I have to admit I much prefer you as yourself.”

The words were quiet enough that he could barely hear them, for a moment forgetting how to breathe as his feet stumbled to a halt. Before he could think about it he was leaning up, pressing his mouth against Harry’s as he released Harry’s hand so he could cup his neck, fingers tangling in the ends of his hair.

He was just starting to register what he was doing, that he was actually doing it and it wasn’t just one of his many daydreams starring the bodyguard, when he felt Harry start to kiss him back. There was the tentative press of a tongue against his lips and he opened them greedily, letting out a small, contented moan when the kiss turned open-mouthed and slightly filthy.

Finally he needed to breath, actually breathe and register what was happening, and he pulled back, realizing only as he did so that he’d been standing on one foot, the other kicked lazily up behind him in the heat the moment. He’d had a fucking foot popping kiss. That was enough that he practically lunged back in for another kiss, not really caring when their noses collided and Harry’s glasses were knocked askew.

The second time they parted Harry took a tentative step back, panting and looking the most disheveled Eggsy had ever seen him, including the time he’d come chasing after him in his robe. He smoothed a hand down the back of his head and Eggsy had to fight the impulse to run his hands through it, to muss it up beyond recognition and to see what he would look like, wanting to see through the exterior the world was always presented with.

“Oh,” Harry said, sounding actually surprised. “The music stopped.”

It took him aback and he knew he was making a confused face, shaking his head.

“I um,” Harry looked actually flustered, and Eggsy wasn’t used to that. 

“Harry?”

“I’ve got to go actually. Yes. I. I’ll see you at the ball tomorrow but I really must be off. Jolly well done today.” 

He half expected the older man to walk into the door on his way out. After the door closed he stared at it for a long moment, trying to figure out just what the fuck had happened, glad to know that at least he wasn’t the only one still trying to process what had just happened.

But what he did know was that Harry Hart had kissed him back. 

More importantly, he knew what Harry Hart tasted like.


	9. Your Highness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's short!

Harry stared at his mobile, fingers hovering over the screen, half a dozen replies to each of Eggsy’s texts merely waiting to be typed and sent, and still he didn’t allow himself to respond. Couldn’t allow himself to respond.

He had let things go on too long. He should have stopped himself the first time he looked at Eggsy and saw more than just a person to guard. He should have realized when he’d started devoting himself to Eggsy rather than the heir apparent. He should have known that he was too close and needed to back off. 

But instead he hadn't resisted the siren's call, scheduling his time so that he could be in the prince's confidence, could protect more than just his physical well being. Had made promises he had no right to give.

Always.

When had that word even entered his vocabulary?

He straightened his bow tie in the mirror, the tuxedo looking as impeccable as it always did, and then forced himself to look at the hair greying at his temples, the lines etched into his face. That was what people saw him as. A nicely dressed, but aging and of no real consequence, lord. A bachelor that would one day pass on and be succeeded by his nephew, a mousey but decent chap who would probably prefer his accounting job to being a viscount.

That was what he had to keep in mind, that even if Eggsy actually saw something else in him, because try as he might he believed that was the case, other people's opinions mattered. He couldn't ignore the fact that Eggsy was the future monarch of Great Britain. He couldn't add to that burden by being entirely unsuitable.

He understood his duties, and while that didn't mean he had to like them, it was easier when he could set priorities. Keep Eggsy safe. Put distance between them. He was a Kingsman, and Eggsy was--Eggsy was marvelous. He was strong, and nothing could keep him down for long. He'd spring back easily and within a few weeks Harry was certain this was something they would simply not talk about, perhaps even laugh about later.

Merlin had actually kept his mouth shut when he'd told him that he couldn't guard Eggsy during the day, had simply suggested Percival instead, and it was his silence that told Harry more than anything that he had to do this. They both knew what had to be done. When all was said and done Merlin would probably never let him live it down, would tease him about the time he almost caused the end of a dynasty, but for now there was just a faint air of pity about him.

Harry refused to wallow in that.

No, tonight he would go and put his best foot forward, protecting Eggs--the royal family at the ball and being as charming as necessary.

The car ride on the way to the ball was the worst part yet, nothing to occupy himself with but his thoughts and his mobile, the later of which buzzed almost as soon as he sat down.

_Harry?_

That was all. He could imagine the look on Eggsy’s face as he sent it, the confusion evident, perhaps biting his lip, eyebrows furrowed. Wondering if Harry was distant because of yesterday or because something was wrong, and he knew he should respond. Wanted to just tell him that he felt ill, because by now it was the truth, his stomach churning unpleasantly. 

It was sheer force of will that allowed him to pocket his phone, and it wasn’t until he was stepping out of the vehicle, straightening his tuxedo to walk into the palace, that he realized his palms were sweaty. That hadn’t happened in over a decade.

He didn’t skulk at the ball. He had a reputation, and it was easy to maintain, he’d had years of practice. But he did stick to his comfort zone, socializing with those he’d known for years, letting himself be caught up in the easy conversations as he surveyed the guests, constantly on watch for a threat.

With these sorts of presentations the person being honored would make a grand entrance. It felt as if only minutes had passed, but also hours, and when the room fell silent he couldn’t help but move over to one of the places that he knew would give him a good vantage point. Eggsy walked as if he already owned the place, head held high, formal attire molded to him perfectly as he made his way straight to the Queen.

He bowed, the move graceful and formal, and straightened when she inclined her head, taking the hand she offered and assuming the position for the dance.

Anyone who had seen Eggsy dancing two days ago would never have considered that this could be the same person. It was a simple waltz to be sure, the Queen was not as young as she had once been, but it was something for the records. The generations together, the present and future, and after the dance was over there was polite applause before more couples joined the dance floor.

Harry could no longer tell himself that the reason his eyes kept tracking Eggsy was for his safety. He could see the agents positioned around the room, knew that he was here as a guest and only as a last resort, seeing the prince accept dance after dance, the music all cleverly suited for waltzes and not the other types of formal dancing that the prince didn’t know.

His earpiece activated, and he was on edge before he fully processed the words, wondering what threat he could have missed. “Harry, that’s your third glass of champagne already.”

Merlin’s Scottish lilt was cautionary, and Harry hadn’t even realized that he’d drained another glass. Nothing to really impede him, but at the rate he was drinking he would need to slow down. He let his glasses focus on his hands, tapping his index finger to show he’d received the message.

“You aren’t the first bodyguard in history to get close to your charge. Maybe the first to not actually seal the deal, but not the first. Go on, have a good time. Dame Olivia has been giving you the eye for a few minutes now. Or Sir Thomas if that’s what you’re in the mood for. Our agents have this covered.”

He knew Merlin had a point. He could use someone else for a distraction, but even as he thought it his eyes were seeking Eggsy, pausing as they landed on him with Princess Tilde, Eggsy’s smile brightening the room. Yes, the princess. They made a good pair. Eggsy liked her, he had mentioned her offhandedly a few times and it was clear they corresponded frequently. She was someone suitable for a prince. Heir to a country, charming, youthful.

The champagne seemed to be taunting him as he flagged down a waiter instead for a bit of non-alcoholic punch, trying to lose himself back in the menial conversation those that chose not to dance partook in.

\---------

He should have been over the moon. He hadn’t stepped on his grandmother’s feet a single time during their dance (a fact she had whispered in his ear before they parted, a slightly mischievous look in her eyes). He’d managed to make it through several more dances with barely any slipups, carrying on polite and dull conversations. 

Yet he found himself focused on the weight of his mobile that he’d snuck into his suit coat, hoping for it to vibrate with an incoming message. Had to force himself to look at his partners and not scan the room for a figure he didn’t know if he would find or not. Couldn’t think about the fact that he had no idea why Harry was reacting the way that he was. He’d kissed back. He’d clearly been interested.

It wasn’t until he was with Tilde that he really started to relax, knowing it would probably cause a fuss later but dancing with her twice in a row, trying to gain some stability.

“You seem distracted,” she finally said as the second dance began. “Looking for someone? Rumour has it the prettiest girl in the room already has herself a princess.”

He shook his head, an actual grin welling up to the surface. “Nah I wouldn’t mess with that bird. I heard about some of the sh--stuff she can do.”

There were a few turns where they just built increasingly complex tales about Roxy’s abilities, and the dance was winding to a close when he looked up and finally caught sight of Harry.

The gentleman was talking to someone Eggsy didn’t know, no surprise really, but he was here. He was here and Eggsy knew where he was. There was a hiss from Tilde and he realized too late that he’d stepped on her toes, wincing a bit but trying to conceal it. “Sorry bruv,” he murmured.

“Did you find them?” She rolled her eyes at the innocent look he tried to give her. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on but you should talk to them. When it comes to people, sometimes you have to spell it out for them. Be transparent. If you’re this shook up about a person when all the rest of this is going on you should probably find them. Here, maneuver us to the edge.”

As they reached the edge she managed to break away, curtsey, and almost immediately hand him a glass of champagne. “If you have a drink it would seem rude to ask for a dance and interrupt your refreshment,” she murmured, voice low and conspirational. “And move with purpose, it confuses them.”

“Thanks,” he murmured back, and strode into the crowd, most people backing off to give him room. Her advice was sound, and it didn’t take him long to cross over to where Harry was. The older man was alone, and he looked up and jerked his head slightly, a guilty expression quickly masked as he bowed before straightening. “Your highness.”

“Lord Hart.” He stepped closer, knowing that everyone would have seen the formal greeting and now that the distance was closing they could be themselves. “I wasn’t sure if something had fucking happened to you Harry.”

“Everything is quite alright.”

“I,” he could feel that something was off, could feel the stiffness even now, but he didn’t want it to be true. “I’ve been looking for you Harry. We need to talk about this shit, yeah?”

“I do not believe we have anything to discuss, Prince Gary.”

The title was worse than a slap to the face or Harry just splashing his punch on him. Almost in a daze he watched as Harry bowed again. “Please excuse me.”

With that Harry turned, moving past a small bunch of aristocrats and slipping out one of the side doors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ilu


	10. Your Royal Highness Will Do

His feet took him through the palace on their own, the servants recognizing him and letting him pass, until finally he was outside and onto the lawn. The air was crisp, cooling lightly flushed cheeks, and he tried to breathe. Just focus and breathe.

He closed his eyes but all he could see was the flash of pain on Eggsy's face, as vivid as if he'd physically struck him. The prince was young, resilient. He’d get over it quickly enough. The door he’d exited from clicked shut behind him, and he turned, trying to fight back the immediate, pleased reaction that flooded through him. Reminding himself this wasn’t what he wanted as he watched two agents station themselves by the door as Eggsy walked closer. 

“Prince Gary.” He kept his voice cool and neutral, a flat expression on his face that he generally used when on duty.

The title was still effective, Eggsy wincing as the words reached him, but when he opened his eyes again they no longer just showed pain. Instead they were full of fire, and it was hard for Harry to mask how much he enjoyed that expression. It suited him much better.

“That’s bullshit. Ain’t no one around so you can fucking call me by my name.” Eggsy was stepping closer, crowding into his space, looking up into his eyes defiantly.

“I’m worried that doing so might be giving you the wrong impression.” The words felt heavy on his own tongue but he managed to say them, trying his best to hide any trace of emotion from his tone. “I apologize if I’ve given you reason to--”

“Will you fucking stop? You keep acting like you ain’t got no interest in me but I seen it. You ain’t exactly been subtle.”

He wanted to cringe, knowing that Eggsy had a point, knowing he should have worked harder to hide that he felt anything. “I was just doing my duty,” he pointed out, knowing the excuse was worthless as Eggsy shook his head.

“I was around the others, and they don’t act like you do. Not even Roxy does. That shit ain’t going to fly with me.” He crossed his arms in front of him, challenging Harry with his eyes and posture, and Harry couldn’t bring himself to keep lying, just shaking his head instead.

Eggsy took a deep breath and let out a long sigh, almost visibly deflating “Look Harry. I--I can deal with it if you don’t want me, you know? I get it, I’m a fucking idiot bumbling my way through this shit.”

“No, Eggsy-”

“I can’t do this shit without you.” His voice had dropped, soft enough that Harry found himself falling silent to hear, heart clenching at his words, at the sense of self-loathing almost palpable in the air. As if Eggsy honestly didn’t know his own worth. “But if you give me a chance I’ll do whatever I got to to be worth it for you. Just let me be near you.”

Harry couldn’t believe the nonsense spewing out of Eggsy’s mouth. “You’re perfect as you are, you always have been.” The words were filled with conviction, because they were simply the truth. No one else Harry knew would have taken the news with such relative calm. It was clear Eggsy wasn’t in it for the money or the power, placing his family much higher than either of those things. Somehow he had managed to find a balance between the public image he needed to maintain and himself, not two identities but rather two facets of the same gem. One rough, one polished, but both still worth more than anyone else Harry had ever encountered.

“I’m the one not worthy to be by your side.” His voice cracked but he pushed past it. “You’re a novelty to the press now Eggsy, but once that has worn off they’ll be searching for anything to discredit you. You deserve someone who can be by your side, someone like Princess Tilde. Someone they won’t judge you for. I’m an old man. I’m your bodyguard for christ’s sake. I refuse to add anything to the burden you already have.”

“Fuck that.” Eggsy was looking at him incredulously, and he knew that the prince didn’t understand, couldn’t see it clearly. He was still too new to this, the intricacies of the nobility and press didn’t mean enough to him. They thrived off of drama, and they didn’t care who or what they destroyed in the process. “Harry that’s fucking bullshit. I don’t give a fuck about them.”

He would have argued but it was at that moment that a muffled yell reached their ears, Eggsy snapping his neck to look even as he did. Kay was on the ground, not moving, and the other agent, the one supplied by MI5, was stalking toward them, hands expertly snapping together the pieces of a rifle as he closed the scant distance between them.

Rifle. Close range. Bulletproof tuxedos wouldn’t hold up to that. No way to get away in time.

He was already reaching for the guns holstered to his back on instinct and muscle memory alone, no time to think as the gun was leveled at them.

It was all about timing as his guns cleared his jacket, his entire world focused on watching the rogue agent’s hand flex, ramming Eggsy to the side a split second before the blast filled the air.

The fact that he was staggering back told him he was hit, but he didn’t have time to focus on that, narrowing his focus to the guns in his hand as he moved to stand in front of his charge and started to unload the clips. “Run.” His command was absolute but he could sense Eggsy hesitating. “Run!”

The second shot that pierced him he couldn’t ignore, his arm faltering as he staggered back another step, listening to Merlin yell in his ear to hold on, help was on the way. 

There wasn’t time for that. He knew some of his own shots had connected but the man still wasn’t down, doubtlessly wearing bullet resistant armor himself. He didn’t have anything as powerful as a rifle. He took a second he didn’t have, sighting down his arm and squeezing off a shot, watching with satisfaction as it found it’s mark in the enemy’s head, dropping him instantly.

While the immediate danger was past he still couldn’t let himself relax, scanning the area, looking at Eggsy almost in confusion as he moved in front of him. He could see his mouth moving, could see the fear in his prince’s eyes and felt hands trying to hold him as his knees gave way and he pitched forward.

\---------

“We’re going to need you to move back. Sir. Move back.” Hands curled around his shoulders and pulled, forcing him from Harry’s side, stopping him from putting pressure on the wound to try to hold the blood in that was oozing over his hands, coating his fingers.

Roxy’s voice cut through the haze, her hand curling over his, holding him back as he started toward the prone figure. “Eggsy, it’ll be okay, they’ll take care of him.”

Wordlessly he watched as they moved his body to a stretcher, hoisting it up as an ambulance moved around to the back of the palace, and he had no idea that was allowed. 

As they started loading up the ambulance he started moving toward the vehicle, yanking his hand away from Roxy. She stuck with him, practically glued to his side, hand flying to her weapon as someone approached.

“Sir you can’t--” the driver was coming closer, holding up his hands to try and keep him back as they slid Harry’s body into the ambulance. 

“Get out of my way.” He wasn’t in the mood for this. He didn’t give a shit what protocols they had or not, and Harry was at least as important as family.

“Protocol doesn’t allow non-family members into the ambulance sir.”

He raised his head, managing to look down on the other man even though Eggsy was the shorter one, eyes blazing. “Your royal highness will do.” He wasn’t even certain where that tone of voice had come from, but it worked, the man withering away from him with a look close to panic as he clambered into the ambulance, Roxy right behind him, snapping at the paramedic that she wasn’t leaving the crown prince’s side.

There was a paramedic putting pressure on the wounds, trying to cover the two holes that were within a hand’s width apart, blood staining the stretcher beneath him. Eggsy couldn’t help but reach for Harry’s hand as the other paramedic got into the vehicle and shut the door, the ambulance rolling into motion as he started talking to someone at the hospital, letting them know about the wounds and to have blood transfusions ready on arrival.

This couldn’t be happening. There was still too much he needed to say to Harry. Mostly he needed to tell him he was an idiot, that it didn’t matter what the press said or did because he could put up with any of their shit so long as he had Harry by his side to go through it with him.

“Don’t you fucking die on me,” he spoke softly, eyes focused on the shallow rise and fall of Harry’s chest. He could sense the paramedics glancing at him, clearly taken aback, but he didn’t care if they heard him. “If you die on me I’ll get someone to revive you so I can kill you again. I’m ordering you to live.”

The only response he received was the continued rise and fall of Harry’s chest, the paramedics calling out stats as Roxy put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing lightly but not actually saying anything. A quiet comfort that he appreciated more than he could probably ever express.

It took longer than he would have liked to get to the hospital, though reality would have only registered a few minutes. Minutes that stretched into agony as the color drained away from Harry’s face, the pulse the paramedic periodically called out slowly but steadily slipping lower and lower, crimson saturating the gauze pad they were using to put pressure on his wounds.

Finally the door opened, hospital personnel waiting to rush Harry in, hands on the stretcher and lifting his body out almost before Eggsy had time to register what was happening and let go of his hand. 

Under his breath, where no one would really be able to hear him, he couldn’t help but mutter a few words for Harry’s ears alone. “Don’t leave me. Please.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always I'm Galahard on tumblr as well!
> 
> /quieter voice ilu


	11. That's My Cue

His eyes blinked open slowly, finally resting then focusing on the ceiling. It wasn't one he recognized but it was generic enough. He turned his head and there was the sight he’d expected. One he enjoyed but not necessarily whom he had wanted to see. 

He tested words on his parched throat, tongue heavy and the name barely more than a whisper. "Merlin."

The bald man looked up from his clipboard before setting it aside. "Welcome back, idiot." He sounded faintly exasperated, and Harry was used to that. He closed his eyes, swallowing to try to work his throat, opening them again as he heard Merlin move.

There was a cup held to his lips and he took a small drink. "Eggsy?"

"He's fine. Unharmed. You went and made a right mess of things though, didn't you?" Merlin shook his head and moved back to his seat. "He stayed here all night, refusing to leave until they made him go for a press conference to prove that he was safe."

The words washed over him and he relaxed, not even bothered by Merlin's critique. He'd been present for the conversation, and even if he hadn't listened to everything, monitoring all the different agents on duty, Harry knew he had to at least have some idea what had transpired. So he just kept on with his simple one name questions. "Kay?"

"Concussed thankfully. Apparently they were more concerned about a swift takedown rather than leaving no witnesses and drawing out a weapon would have alerted him. He was discharged hours ago."

Harry was satisfied with that, shifting a bit only to feel a dull stab of pain shoot through his shoulder, mostly masked by the same pain medicine that made his thoughts foggy as he tried to wade through the information he was presented with.

"The attacker?"

This he opened his eyes for, rewarded with the determined look that crossed Merlin's face. "I hacked his phone. It was a paid job but we're still tracing the origins."

He struggled to sit up. "Take all MI5 agents off him and double the Kingsman personnel."

"Do you honestly think I'm that stupid? We did that while he was still at the hospital. Everyone will be working long hours, we're down to half staff, and I'm pulling a couple of top recruits to work with seasoned agents to keep him under protection. Lancelot is refusing to leave his side until after the the press conference, but I'm going to have to bench her soon."

At least with that news he could breathe. Merlin looked down at his clipboard, fingers flying over the screen before he looked up once more. "The press conference is just a social one, rumors are floating about so we need to contain them. The Queen is going to talk about some of her personal initiatives but Eggsy will be in the background as proof of his well being. It'll begin momentarily."

They'd worked together long enough that he knew the other words weren't idle, that Merlin was bringing it up to see if he wanted him to turn it on.

There were other things to think about, and he knew Eggsy was safe, so he shook his head. "We have other things to discuss. How soon until I can be back on the field?"

"Your next shift isn't until tonight." Merlin's voice was flat and unimpressed before he glanced up to give an equally flat and unimpressed look. "Do you really want to risk one of the Royal family because you're too stupid to just stay in your fucking bed? You were shot twice Harry. One was a fairly simple flesh wound to the shoulder but the other one they had to dig out of your chest. You have weeks if not months of physical therapy ahead of you."

"I'm still a decent shot with my left arm." The words sounded almost petulant to his own ears but he wasn't going to let some pathetic assassin keep him down.

When Merlin just looked at him and smiled he started to get worried. "Well, we'll just leave that decision to your boss then. I'm sure he'll love to hear your thoughts on the matter."

\---------

Walking around now was a different sort of feeling. The staff of the hospital seemed to be on high alert, clearing a path whenever possible as he moved through the hallways. He tried to remember to smile and nod, but with Percival at his side and Ector a few steps behind him they were still an intimidating presence.

He didn't even realize that as he was, still in a suit and moving with such purpose and confidence that even without two bodyguards or a title people still would have moved aside to give him preference.

He didn't even pause when he reached Harry's room, opening the door and walking in, Percival and Ector stationing themselves by the door.

"Ever heard of knocking?" Harry was reclined up in the bed, looking toward the door.

"That's my cue." Merlin stood up from the corner of the room, distracting Eggsy momentarily as he tried to take in Harry's appearance. 

He waited until the door was shut, knowing Harry was taking him in just as much as the other way around, and the older man probably had better observational skills. “So, I’m fucking exhausted.”

Ignoring Harry’s raised eyebrows he moved over to pull a chair closer to the bed, not caring about the noises of protest as it scraped across the floor, and plopped down in it.

His legs sprawled out in front of him as he slouched in his seat, not giving a single fuck about his posture. He was going to be comfortable around one of the few people he felt he could be himself around. Even if that person was an idiot.

“You got any idea the shit people go through waiting for someone to get out of surgery?” He snorted. “Course you don’t. You was out the whole fucking time. Well let me tell you, I ain’t done more than doze off here or there a couple of times.” 

“You should rest.” 

Of course Harry would be the one sitting in a hospital bed telling him to rest, but Eggsy just shrugged. “That’s what I said, but they refused to set up a bed in here. Something about me having other responsibilities.”

“That’s understandable.”

Eggsy sighed and sat up only to lean forward, resting his elbows on his knees and his chin on his hands. “Let’s drop the act, yeah? If that bastard hadn’t interrupted us we’d be past all this pleasantries shit now.”

“It never hurts one to be pleasant.” Just hearing Harry snark back was reassuring, and he probably shouldn’t have relaxed quite so quickly. 

“Yeah? Well I got a question for you. I don’t want you to think about nothing else for a minute, for now it’s just the two of us in this room, bruv.”

Eggsy paused, waiting for Harry’s undivided attention with his silence, knowing it was a trick Harry had used on him not so long ago. “Just tell me honest like. Do you love me? I don’t mean that movie shit where someone ain’t themself or goes and does something stupid. You already went and almost got yourself killed and it didn’t do nothing for me. I mean the type of love, or fuck, even like, where you could see us sticking together, yeah?” He couldn’t seem to find the end of his question, fearing the answer now that it was too late to back out. “Or even if you’d want to give it a try? I mean--”

“Yes.”

 

Harry’s voice was clear, cutting through the rambling Eggsy was about to dissolve into. “Yes?”

 

“That question is one I’ve had to think about for some time now,” Harry admitted. “But we can’t just ignore everything else. It doesn’t work like that.”

“Fuck, I know. I know. But they won’t let me stay long today, something about me getting a few hours of sleep before some meeting with some ambassador and then more shit, so I ain’t going to have a chance to come back until tomorrow. So I was thinking we could deal with all that shit tomorrow and right now I’m just going to kiss you.” He could see Harry’s eyes widening from where he sat, but for the moment he didn’t make a move to get up, letting his words sink it. “It’d be a fucking shame if we both knew we loved each other and we didn’t do shit about it. I want at least one kiss to remember where it’s just about us and not about anything outside this room.”

He watched as Harry swallowed, enjoying the way the muscles of his throat worked. “I could understand the appeal,” he finally admitted, and Eggsy stood, never taking his eyes off Harry as he moved over to the bed.

It all might have been quite sexy if it wasn’t for the fact that when he got to the bed it was hard to figure out where to go. “That bit lowers,” Harry pointed out, smirking slightly, showing what to press to get the guardrail to go down.

“Well how the fuck was I supposed to know,” he grumbled in return as the thing jammed, finally managing it on the third try, and when he looked back up Harry was turned away from him slightly, obviously stifling a laugh. “Oh fuck you, wanker. We could’ve been doing this days ago.”

Eggsy perched on the edge of the bed, watching as the lines of laughter started to turn into something more serious, Harry’s eyebrows creasing into a frown. “Hey, none of that.” He didn’t want to ask what the older man was remembering, because there were too many things from the past couple of days he didn’t want to think about either.

Instead he just leaned over, raising one hand to rest at the base of Harry’s neck, thumb absentmindedly tracing patterns into the skin as he leaned in.

It was gentle, and it stayed that way, lips softly sliding together as if they both wanted this to last as long as possible, as if it might be the last kiss that they shared. He was hesitant to drag his tongue over Harry’s bottom lip, almost relieved when the bodyguard opened his mouth to give him more access. It was something he was quite willing to take advantage of, but he took his time, pressing a lingering kiss the side of Harry’s mouth, the place where small lines had formed from the pleased little smiles he often coaxed out of him.

As he finally let his tongue delve into Harry’s mouth, tracing his teeth as if he could memorize them, he could feel Harry sinking his fingers into his hair, hand flexing slightly before relaxing over and again. Finally he had had to pull back, dragging in a shaky breath, pupils blown from simply kissing. “Fuck,” he breathed, watching as Harry swiped his tongue over his lips. But he had to stop, because his back was protesting the awkward angle, leaning back and in, and he was determined to fix that.

He knew it was a good decision to swing his leg over, straddling Harry’s thighs, when the older man’s hand tightened in his hair once more, dragging him back in for another kiss. This one was more reminiscent of the one from before, the edge of teeth present as Harry nipped at his bottom lip, and he could just imagine it being slightly swollen later. Not enough to notice, but enough that he’d have a bit of a reminder. The thought made him groan, the sound accompanied by a roll of his hips, pressing against Harry, and he stilled, wondering if he’d gone too far.

Instead it only seemed to spur him on, all but devouring his mouth, and Eggsy could feel himself just relaxing into it, giving in and letting his hips rock leisurely against Harry’s. He could feel as Harry started to move with him and then their kiss was broken off with a sharp intake of breath, eyes snapping fully open to see Harry grimace as he relaxed back into the bed.

“Oh fuck, your shoulder.” Then he couldn’t help but grin a bit, raising his eyebrows at Harry as he sat back a bit, resting his weight on his lower thighs. “Did you forget you was injured?”

Harry rolled his eyes but his voice was fond when he spoke. “Momentarily. But it does feel like shit so they’ll probably be in soon for a new round of pills.”

“Alright, alright.” Still, he couldn’t resist leaning in for another press of lips before maneuvering off of Harry’s lap and to the floor. There was no way to be subtle about adjusting himself so he was rather blatant about it, smirking at the exasperated look he earned as he moved to try to smooth the worst of the wrinkles out of his suit, straightening his tie into place.

“I’ll be back tomorrow, yeah? I’ll get this nonsense you’ve been spouting sorted out then.”

Harry didn’t look convinced, but he’d prove him wrong. He could do this. He turned, starting to reach out for the handle of the door before Harry spoke, the sound of his voice instantly halting him.

“You might want to do something about your hair first, unless you want whoever is waiting for you to never let you live it down.”

\---------

Being stuck in a hospital room meant he had more than enough time to think about what had just happened, mind tracing out different possible scenarios. Sometimes wondering if he should have said no to Eggsy’s question, other times wondering what might have happened if his injury hadn’t impeded them. It was probably for the best, he’d be damned if their first anything was in a hospital bed.

Because he was actually thinking about something more. Actually letting himself dream about being with Eggsy in some capacity. He still wasn't suitable, he knew that, but time to sit and think meant that he was able to consider other options. 

It was impossible to not look forward to Eggsy's arrival, fussing over paperwork and bickering with Merlin via his glasses over the candidates that had worked their way to the top of the lists. He hadn't felt this much anticipation to see someone since perhaps the first time he'd been presented to the Queen as a Kingsman, and even then it was different. He certainly hadn’t been thinking about furthering a relationship with the Queen.

The door opening had him pulling his glasses off and setting them aside on the table, not desiring Merlin’s commentary for this particular reunion. At least today he felt a bit more like himself, out of bed if mostly confined to a rather uncomfortable chair, and with his own pyjama bottoms and a robe on rather than hospital garments. The clothing had been worth putting up with Merlin’s knowing smirk when he’d requested them.

“Still adverse to knocking I see.”

Eggsy seemed a bit startled to find him out of bed, but the resulting smile when his eyes did land on him spoke volumes in and of itself. “Good to see you up and about, Harry.” He swaggered over, looking far more at ease in his chav fashion than he did in a suit, bending down brazenly for a kiss.

Well, almost brazenly. Harry knew him well enough to see through the façade, seeing the slight hesitation as he waited for Harry to actually finish the deed. As if he wasn’t sure if he would be accepted or rejected today, and that was something that Harry was to blame for. He was the reason Eggsy had cause to doubt.

He put him out of his misery by leaning forward and closing the distance between their mouths, barely brushing their lips together. This wasn’t the time to distract the prince, they had far too much to discuss, but he was with him. 

Eggsy seemed to take that as it was intended, sitting down in the other chair with such ease that Harry couldn’t help but remark on it. “A gentleman typically asks if he can be seated,” he pointed out, not the type to miss a teaching moment, and there was still so much that Eggsy needed to learn. 

“Yeah? Well I heard people is supposed to stand when royalty enters the room too.” He gave Harry a pointed look, clearly teasing, but Harry was in a good enough mood to play along. 

“Even when one is injured for the sake of that royal?”

“Fine,” Eggsy sounded petulant and he accented his words with a wave of his hand. “By royal decree you can stay seated on your lazy arse. So, they treating you alright here? I don’t got any get well flowers or shit for you but if you want something to spruce up the place I could probably get something sent.”

“I’m not the sort that needs flowers,” Harry pointed out, relaxing into the ease of the conversation. “In fact, I’m not the sort that really needs much at all.”

He was obviously leading, watching as Eggsy turned to him, eyebrows raised, lips parted unconsciously. It was how he often looked when he was trying to figure out something new.

“That so?”

“Yes. I’ve been thinking about this, about us,” he said pointedly, “and I would like you to hear me out as I think I have a solution that could work. Obviously you’re the last direct heir, which means that you will need to marry and produce an heir of your own, preferably multiple ones.” He could see Eggsy about to interrupt and he held him at bay with a simple raised finger.

“It’s simply anatomy Eggsy, I can’t be that for you.”

Eggsy rolled his eyes, tone entirely unimpressed. “So fucking what? This is bullshit Harry. I already told you that. I ain’t just going to ignore whatever it is going on with us.”

“We don’t have to, Eggsy. Nor do I want to. The truth of the matter is that people in the public eye have kept relationships private for years.”

“Harry don’t you fucking--”

“I wouldn’t mind.” His voice was raised slightly. “No one would suspect a thing, they would simply presume we’re close due to your father or my being your bodyguard. We can be together as long as you wish and if you desire to end things I would accept it. Eggsy, you can trust me to keep your interests as my top priority.”

Eggsy had gotten to his feet as he tried to lay out his case, pacing the small room until he was back in front of him, glaring down. “That ain’t a fucking option Harry! Not for me.”

"And I've already told you, but I refuse to add to your burdens." He wanted to be on his feet as well, hating that he was confined to the chair but he couldn't risk opening up his wound anew. 

"Then stop seeing yourself as a burden! That's bollocks. You honestly think that I would still be here if it wasn't for you? I wouldn't have lasted a fucking day. I can't do this without you. I don't want to do this without you." Eggsy’s voice lowered and he shrugged helplessly. “What good is a fucking crown if I’m just going to be miserable the rest of my life?”

“It wouldn’t be without me.” He tried to push that thought through, tried to sound convincing only to have Eggsy shake his head, turning around to pace the room again but slowly this time, working out energy as he gestured through his words.

“I ain’t willing to hide you like some dirty little secret. It ain’t right. You don’t deserve that. You’re fucking perfect really. Stop selling yourself short. If anyone’s a nobody here it’s me, you ain’t got to prove nothing.” He stopped, looking back at Harry, and that determined look in his eye, the one that had convinced Harry time and time again that Eggsy could not only become the King but a truly great one, was back.

“I can’t compromise on this. Not knowing that we both feel the same way. Do you trust me, Harry?”

He was powerless to do anything but nod. When Eggsy was like this he could imagine the world at his feet, and there was no possible way to deny him.

“I’m going to fucking figure this out. Just give me time, yeah? We can keep it quiet until then but I ain’t losing you. I already had to face that once and I ain’t fucking doing it again.”

“Just,” he hated the way Eggsy seemed to freeze at just a single word, but it showed how vulnerable the young man was, despite his words. “Just let me know if I can help you. I love you Eggsy, and it is to my advantage too if you find a solution. But try to understand that my first concern is you. I don’t want a solution where you lose something because of me.”

It was a bit forced but the grin on Eggsy’s face was almost cocky when he responded. “Relax love, ain’t no one out there that knows what I’m capable of yet. I’m going to have my cake and I’m going to fucking eat it too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always I'm Galahard on tumblr as well! I'm not sure if I'll wind up splitting chapter 12 or not, but basically things will be winding down in 2-3 chapters!


	12. Westminster?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this chapter is well, quite a bit longer than the others, but tumblr people all seemed to agree that it was fine to have a monster chapter rather than splitting it. The epilogue is the final chapter (which will be pretty short tbh) and should be posted tomorrow!

_On my way in._

Eggsy glanced at his phone before pocketing it, more than ready to see Harry around the palace again. With Merlin’s help they had managed to get him to somewhat focus on his own healing and physical therapy. Naturally Harry took that to mean that he should spend every moment possible sneaking to the gun range to practice his left-handed shooting, and finally in a fit of exasperation Merlin cleared him for duty, but only if he was with another agent.

His duties wouldn't resume until tomorrow, but there was nothing stopping Eggsy from inviting Harry to come out for lunch. “He’s on his way,” he remarked and the Queen nodded. 

“Galahad has always been punctual if not early.” He could tell she was still trying to work out why he had requested this lunch, why he'd specifically invited just her, Harry, and his grandfather. 

He had gotten closer to his grandparents over the past several weeks, losing a bit of his awe for them, though he still did his best to at least rein in his “ain'ts” and “fucks,” to varying degrees of success. So it wasn't hard to pass the time with them. Of course it helped that in private he had no shame in just asking whatever questions he came up with, whether it be on foreign policies or just trying to figure out what the deal was with some current event everyone was fussing over.

So the Queen was in the midst of telling him about the upheaval in the southern United States when the door opened and Harry walked in.

There was the faintest hesitation in his step before he was moving forward, door closing behind him, waiting for the Queen to finish her thought before bowing and speaking. "I beg your pardon Your Majesty, I should have knocked."

"It's quite alright Galahad, enough formality. Come have a seat." She motioned to the seat next to him and Eggsy tried to be subtle as he watched Harry moving toward him. The sling holding his arm in place was still a touch jarring, but Harry looked even better than he had the day before. “Or is it Lord Hart today? I’m not quite certain which role you’ve been invited for.”

He knew Harry wasn’t sure himself so he cut in smoothly. “Lord Hart or Harry today. Bit of a mix of formal and not, yeah? My fault really, I didn’t actually tell him he wasn’t just eating with me.”

All and all he was fairly unconcerned about that. He knew Harry would have fretted if he’d known, would have asked him hundreds of questions, and while he had unlimited texting he preferred to use them sending Harry more emoticons than strictly necessary and sneaking in hidden innuendoes. It was always interesting to see at what point Harry would just give up on a conversation as lost. 

His grandfather was the one that brought up the subject clearly on everyone’s mind. “So why did you gather us together then?”

“Just a few things I wanted to discuss. Might take a while though, so we want to get our food first, yeah?”

That was one of the things he liked about his grandparents. When it wasn’t an overly formal event they preferred things relatively simple. The chef hadn’t even batted an eye when he’d asked to have their luncheon served as a buffet, though he did get a look for actually intruding in the kitchens.

He held back, as did Harry, letting the older couple have preference. “Eggsy,” Harry’s tone almost had an edge of warning to it and Eggsy let his hand reach under the table to Harry’s knee, squeezing lightly before standing.

“I’m fucking glad you were able to make it.” With that he moved to load up his plate, easily dwarfing the others’ as he took a huge serving of salmon and heaped the sides around and on it. A private setting meant he could eat relatively normally and with the knowledge that there was some political dinner that evening it was a good chance to get in a decent meal.

Several bites managed to disappear from his plate before he couldn’t ignore the obvious curiosity and had to address it. Regretfully he set down his cutlery, knowing his food would be cold before he would be able to touch it again. “I asked you all here because for the past few weeks I’ve been thinking about the future. I mean, getting fu--shot at was a bit eye opening, yeah?”

For now he only had knowing eyes on him, slightly indulgent smiles. “I get it. There’s danger in this, but that ain’t a big deal to me. There was danger just staying with Dean so this ain’t nothing I can’t handle. I did decide something though, and I already talked to Harry about it some. I ain’t going to do all this without being happy along the way. I ain’t going to do this without Harry.”

He set his hand on the table between them, palm up, sensing Harry’s hesitation before his hand was loosely covering his own. He never actually looked though, instead focused on his grandmother, watching her gaze shift over to their hands and realization dawning.

“You’re bent.” It wasn’t really judgmental, more of an observation and he took that for what it was worth. His grandfather was fairly quiet, watching without giving much away, and he had mostly expected that. This was primarily between him and his grandmother. The Queen and her heir.

“Bit of both actually, til Harry came along. I’m kind of stuck on him.”

She took a sip of tea before sitting back in her chair, hands folded primly in her lap. “Well, this certainly isn’t the first time this has happened in the royal family. And at least your partner has background knowledge in the art of discretion. I am sure he will be able to teach you what you need to know in that sense. The trick will be in finding a wife that will put up with your infidelity.”

“I’m going to have to pass on that.” He shrugged, his expression clearly showing his distaste for that idea. “Harry’s it for me. Might not be able to get married in Westminster Abbey but we’ll make do.” 

Next to him Harry choked on his tea, causing it to go down the wrong way, and he struggled to get his coughing under control.

Maybe it was unfair for him to have tossed that out so casually, but he didn’t really have a better plan than to lay it all out in the open. Still, for a moment he was distracted, attention focused on the older man. When he spoke his words were filled with awe, a grin taking over his face. “I ain’t never seen you do something that graceless.”

“Nor have I.” The Queen sounded shocked but he couldn’t manage to turn and check. 

Harry took a drink and cleared his throat. “Westminster?”

“I said I was thinking ahead.” He shrugged and turned so he could see the Queen once more. "Cause that's where I see this going. I ain't going to wait around forever, someday Harry and I are probably going to get married. We'll make it all official and shit." He looked back over at Harry. "If you want to of course. But we've got time for that later. Just trying to be transparent with my intentions."

“Only you would bring that up casually over lunch.” He could tell Harry was trying to sound exasperated, but hints of fondness were coming through and rather destroying that image. 

“You’re young” his grandmother pointed out. “You don’t know Lord Hart that well, you’ve only known him for a matter of weeks. You can’t be certain that this is what you want, and it is not too late to break off a relationship. Do you truly want to risk everything you’ve been working on for him?”

“I’ve known him as long as I’ve known about being royal. Longer in fact. Ain't saying its going to be perfect and fuck, maybe we'll have an explosive argument and won't want to see each other no more. But I refuse to sit back and hide and pretend to be someone I ain't." His accent was coming out stronger now, passion leaking into his voice, but he wasn't going to just sit passively by on this.

"Trust me Your Majesty, I've already brought up most of the counters that you are probably thinking of." He hadn't really been expecting Harry to speak, but his calm helped to cut through the emotional plea he was making, adding logic back into the mix.

"I would be the first to acknowledge that my age and gender are not ideal. I have more reason than most to desire that Eggsy has a successful career, and I acknowledge that our relationship could be detrimental to that. I believe that while we might not truly understand the depth of trouble we will doubtlessly face, we are both cognizant of it. I will not let your grandson down. I will do whatever it takes to keep him safe and to make him happy."

“I don’t think you fully understand.” The Queen looked between both of them. “The Church is still working through the issue of same sex marriage, and it is the Archbishop of Canterbury that will coronate you. If you set yourself against them now you may be making a powerful enemy. One that may refuse to grant you your rightful crown. You need to consider your choice. What is more important to you, Great Britain or a man you think you love? I may not want to have an heir that would put the needs of an individual over the needs of nations.”

Her voice was stern, and he could almost feel Harry wanting to wince away. A scolding, that was what this was. She sounded as if she was scolding a rebellious child. He looked at her, chin lifting up unconsciously. “You want me to choose? Fine. I choose both. There ain’t no reason I can’t be the best monarch the Commonwealth has ever seen and also married to a bloke. If anything Harry would probably make me a better monarch. I’ll convince every person I need to one at a time, if that’s what it takes.”

There was a moment where she simply regarded him, their wills battling each other silently before she gave the tiniest of nods, the lightest hints of approval in her voice. “I can see you are determined at least.” She turned to her husband. “Do you have anything to add?”

His grandfather wiped his mouth before answering. “At least Galahad is a viscount and not a commoner. I don’t know if we could manage to sell that to the public. We’ve trusted Galahad with our life for years, so I would trust him with our grandson. Just remind the public that Lord Hart saved Eggsy’s life and enough people will eat up the romantic nonsense that you won’t face quite so many nitwits. You better have an answer ready about heirs though.”

He hadn’t expected his grandfather to side with him, and the protests he’d been building up, ready to use, died down as he acclimated himself for a moment. He grinned at the older man, wanting to thank him but trying to behave himself somewhat. “Heirs? That’s already settled. Well, unofficially. I’m sure someone will want to draw up some sort of contract or something.”

He knew he had their attention as he took a drink of his water. “Princess Tilde and I are going to have children together, I just got to make some uh, personal donations. We already decided we’d have at least three provided there ain’t no serious complications, one heir for each country and then an extra in case one decides to run off and join the marines.”

The last remark had a smile twitching at the corners of the Queen’s mouth, but her voice was still serious when she spoke. “That’s not a small thing to ask from the crown princess of Sweden, though I admit her bloodline is undisputable. Why on earth would she do that for you?”

“Because me coming out will make it easier for her to. I agreed I’d make my announcement first so by the time she comes out and we make the announcement about the children people will start to get used to the idea of an openly gay ruler. Well, that and we’re going to assign Lancelot to her. Someone has to keep an eye out for the mother of the future heirs of Great Britain, yeah?”

He managed to take a bite of salmon as they mulled that over, letting it sink in as to just precisely who he was talking about.

“Lady Roxanne.” As his nodded, the Queen sighed. “You certainly have been working at this haven’t you. I can presume Lady Roxanne is also on board with this plan? Indeed. And what about Lord Hart? Will he be continuing on as Galahad or shall we be losing our best agent as well?”

“Certainly not right away.” Harry sounded affronted at the very idea. “I still wish to be involved with Kingsman, though I understand that eventually things may have to change, especially if I need to go on official state visits or perform public duties.”

“I’ve actually got an idea about that too,” Eggsy chimed in, knowing that Harry was caught off guard. They hadn’t discussed anything about him potentially shifting his role, nothing more than the fact that he wanted to stay involved. “Kingsman needs a new Arthur, and traditionally the role is a bit more behind the scenes. It doesn’t have to be completely, but it would allow for Harry to have less personal risk as we move forward.” He turned to the older man at his side. “Sorry, I just asked Merlin about the logistics of that yesterday on my way out so I haven’t had a chance to tell you about that idea. Just something to think about, yeah?”

“You’re remarkable.” There was no denying the fondness in Harry’s voice or his eyes, and Eggsy grinned back at him, for a minute forgetting that it wasn’t just the two of them in the room until the Queen cleared her throat.

“So it’s like that. Well, not even I can deny that. I just want you to be certain this is what you want before we let so much as even a besotted smile leak to the press. Because trust me, that look right there would have given everything away. 

“This is not my complete approval, but I am willing to consider this matter further, though I will need some time to think on it. If we want this to have a chance of succeeding we’ll need to be clever about how the news is released. Lord Hart, I would like you to rearrange your schedule so that we can all have lunch together on Tuesdays for the foreseeable future.”

“Yes your majesty.”

“In the mean time, keep my grandson safe. You’re not the only one that has grown fond of him.”

With that she began to steer the conversation to other areas, his grandfather offering to grill for the next week so they could have lunch on the lawn if the weather was nice. It was a start.

\---------

“Galahad.”

The voice was commanding and he froze immediately, turning to face his Queen and dipping his head in a bow. “Your Majesty.”

“Walk with me.” 

It had been his intention to go home and prepare for the next day, a day where he would finally be back on the rotations to help relieve some of the exhausted agents that they were cycling through. He fell into step just half a pace behind her easily, having done this occasionally for years as she took them out to the gardens and near a tree she prefered, motioning for her guards to stay out of earshot.

“You’re over twice his age.” She cut to the chase brutally and he could only nod.

“I’ve tried to point that out myself,” he admitted. “Though admittedly, I don’t have a reason to be truly convincing.”

“If I so much as suspect that you pressured him into this there will be hell to pay Lord Hart.” Her voice was steel. Titanium perhaps, completely lacking any sort of soft coating to it. “I will destroy you if that is the case.”

“I understand Your Majesty, but that’s not it. This is as real as anything has ever been in my life.”

“Do you love him? Or do you just not want to hurt his feelings?” She was being direct, not letting him dance away from the answers, but he didn’t want to. Nor did he need to.

“I do. It wasn’t intentional, and I’ve agonized over the discovery for quite some time, at first believing it would never be possible. But with Eggsy,” he trailed off for a moment, thinking. “With Eggsy I believe he can make anything happen. He has the will for it. The strength.”

The Queen turned and looked up at him, smiling softly. “You see it as well. He could truly be the greatest of them all if he finds his stride. And I do believe you could help him with that. But I truly don’t believe either of you know what you are dealing with. You probably understand better than he does, but this will not be easy.”

He nodded his understanding but she leveled a look at him. “You have until we decide to go public to make up your mind. Once you go public with my grandson you will not break up with him. You will do whatever it takes to keep the two of you together. Do you understand me? These next few weeks are your last opportunity to walk away, and I will not hold it against you. In fact, I will help set you up wherever you want to live if you choose to leave. You would never have to see him again, and you could live a life of luxury. Think about it.”

He bowed slightly. “Thank you Your Majesty, but I am afraid I will have to decline your offer, and I do not need to think about it. I intend to be by his side for as long as he will allow it.”

She placed a hand on his arm, and it was one of the only times she had ever touched him, including handshakes. “That’s what I was hoping you would say Lord Hart. Eggsy has chosen well.”

\---------

“I wouldn’t have actually stabbed her with my escargot fork, Harry.” He could hear Percival behind him snorting softly and he resolutely ignored his second guard. 

“Really.” Harry’s voice was dry and bland, but he could see the hint of a smirk on his face.

“Well, probably not. But that’s why I keep you around you know, to make sure I don’t accidentally stab bigoted politicians with cutlery.”

“That makes so much sense. Here I was thinking you kept me around because of my dashing good looks and charming sense of humor.”

Harry was clearly teasing but Eggsy just tossed him a grin. “Well that too. Look how useful you are, I guess I really will have to keep you.”

In truth what they were now laughing about had been no small matter. The news had been released that morning through the royal website and a series of posts and tweets, only a couple of photos released in total of him and Harry. Walking the palace grounds side by side, holding hands. Smiling at each other over a series of documents they’d been studying. Frames from the recordings some of the Kingsman had taken to give them a natural feel.

Princess Tilde had immediately retweeted with her support, and then there had been the usual chaos one could expect. There wouldn’t be a press conference until the next day but there had already been a dinner planned with some top political figures, and it was a good opportunity to have Harry at his side for the first time in a non-bodyguard position. In reality Harry knew the men and women better than he did, but even with the small group there were clearly differing opinions.

The woman in question had been the most snide of the lot, and only knowing how much scrutiny he was under from those who weren’t sure what to think (and Harry’s touch under the table) kept him from reacting to the comments with complete indignation. It wasn’t until she made certain slanderous accusations about Harry that he motioned forward the head butler and made the request that she be escorted off the premises. He didn’t shout but nor did he whisper, ensuring that everyone sitting near them heard the request. Then he had smiled apologetically and redirected his attention to the man across from him, asking after his daughter’s progress in her dancing classes.

Their first day officially as a couple and already the drama had begun.

They had just gotten to his quarters, Percival going to stand by the door as Harry moved forward to make a sweep of the rooms before they would be clear for Eggsy to enter, when he remembered the gift in his pocket. 

With a smirk he reached for it, tossing the small case to Percival as Harry returned to the door and gave the all clear. “See you tomorrow Percy,” he said cheerfully, wishing he could see the look on his face when he opened up the ear plugs but mostly just satisfied because there was actually a reason to give them now. Harry finally no longer needed to wear his sling, and it no longer mattered if someone accidentally caught Harry in his rooms after it was appropriate. Those were both reasons enough to celebrate, and he had plenty of plans as to how that could happen.

He loved the fact that Harry stayed without being asked, feeling comfortable enough in his suite of rooms to just keep up their conversation. “Really though Eggsy, you handled that quite nicely. Waiting until she had committed to an actual insult toward me meant that no one could actually blame you for what you did, and it was done quite calmly. Very well done, I was impressed.”

“I’d rather impress you with something other than how I treat rude, ignorant people,” Eggsy remarked as he stripped off his tie, tossing it to the side only to earn a huff and pointed look from Harry. Rolling his eyes he moved to put it with his other ties. He didn’t have any actual proof, not yet, but he was pretty sure that Harry would probably stop in the middle of sex to put something away properly. “But at least we know what we’re dealing with.”

“Are you ready for tomorrow?” Harry had taken off his suit coat, the height of relaxation for him, and taken a seat, entirely used to Eggsy pacing off his energy after some formal event.

So he kept pacing, moving to put away his own jacket and then fiddling with his cuff links. “Yeah, Merlin said everyone would be on duty, though I still say Tristan is too adorable to strike fear into anyone. That’s the plan right, for her to give the bad guy’s puppy eyes until they just hand over their guns?” 

He was starting to unbutton his shirt as Harry shook his head. “You’ve seen her in action. She can dodge anything you can throw at her and still knock a man twice her size on his back in a matter of seconds.”

“But you at least have to admit that her Great Dane weighs more than she does.”

“That’s just simple fact, of course I’ll admit that. But Agent Tristan seems to be a very valuable addition to Kingsman.”

He put the shirt in the laundry hamper as he nodded. “Yeah, and Gwaine looks like he’ll be a good fit too. You made a decision about Arthur yet? If you move up your spot is going to need to be filled. Then the U.K. branch of Kingsman would be complete again, yeah?” He set his shoes on the rack and then started to work on his belt as he waited for Harry to answer.

There was a delay and he looked up to see Harry watching him, a bit startled almost. “Hm? Oh yes, I have been thinking about it and I think I might. I still intend to at least wait a week or two to see what the state of things are and to see if I can make the transition or not, but I’ve been discussing some of the finer details with Merlin. I--I wasn’t aware that you’d be wanting to go straight to bed tonight, we can discuss this more tomorrow. You should get your rest.” 

He stood up, starting to turn toward the door and for a moment Eggsy couldn’t actually believe that this was happening. “Where the fuck are you going?” He voice was genuinely confused. “Did you miss what happened today? We announced that we’re dating. It’s official. It won’t be the end of the world if people know you spent the night with me.”

“The press conference is tomorrow morning though. I didn’t bring fresh clothing.” There was a note of horror to his voice at the thought of not having impeccably clean clothing and months ago Eggsy could never have pictured himself in this situation. Ridiculously in love with a man so distressed over a shirt and some pants.

“So we’ll have some delivered, or you can do a walk of shame in the morning and get something yourself. Or you could always just borrow something and press your shirt again. Please Harry, thinking about tonight was probably the only reason I didn’t actually stab that woman with the escargot fork. That and knowing you’d be furious if I got blood on my suit.” He undid his trousers, pushing them down his legs until they pooled at his feet before stepping out of them.

He was completely unselfconscious standing there in just his pants, half hard just from thinking about what they could be doing together, knowing this was one of the most convincing parts of his argument as he sauntered toward Harry. “Please stay,” he said, reaching up to loosen his tie. “You have no idea how much judgment I had to face asking Roxy to bring in more lube. I’m still a bit traumatized, if we’re being entirely honest with each other.”

“More?” Harry had managed to catch on to the important part it seemed and Eggsy nodded.

“More,” he confirmed, looking up into Harry’s eyes. “I’ve been practicing opening myself up for you.” His words were almost matter of fact and he could tell Harry wasn’t expecting them, eyes flicking downward and Eggsy just grinned at him. “I could demonstrate for you. You know, if you were willing to stay and all.” 

The eyebrow wriggle added onto the end was entirely uncalled for and Harry sighed. “You’re insufferable.”

“Mmhmm,” Eggsy agreed easily enough. “Good thing you like insufferable.” Still he couldn’t help but start to feel a bit self-conscious. He was practically throwing himself at Harry and that was all he had to say? He refused to focus on that but as he watched Harry’s expression faltered slightly.

“Eggsy are you certain about this?”

He took a step back, staring up at the older man. “Harry Hart, if you’ve been holding back on me because you’re worried I’m going to regret this then you’re a fucking idiot. I love you. It ain’t that hard to understand.” Then his face went scarlet and he looked away. “Unless you’re just worried because of that botched handjob last week? I swear I don’t even know how that happened but I have learned my lesson about zippers and the secret danger of them.”

“That was pretty impressive,” Harry admitted, and when he looked up the older man’s shoulders were quivering in barely suppressed laughter.

“Oh fuck you. You’re not the one that had a shirt with a shredded sleeve in the bin. I swear the maid that cleans my room knew what happened. I haven’t been able to look her in the eye all week!”

His tirade died down as Harry leaned in, capturing his lips in a kiss that seemed designed to distract him, and it worked. It felt different than normal, hungrier almost, Harry gently nipping at his lips and chasing his tongue into his mouth. His tongue seemed to be everywhere, tracing over his teeth and the roof of his mouth, memorizing every inch of him until they broke apart, panting. He could barely think, barely focus, and he acted on what he could think about. Reaching out he grabbed Harry’s shirt, fisting the fabric without a care about wrinkling it and walking backwards toward the bed, Harry completely willing to follow him.

When the bed hit the back of his legs he sat down, Harry immediately leaning in for another kiss as Eggsy let his hands drift lower, fumbling for Harry’s belt and working it open eagerly. This time as they broke apart he couldn’t help but smirk. “So is that what does it for you? Wrecking my shirts? Because I could go get that one out of the hamper.”

Harry was working on unbuttoning his own, clearly getting flustered each time his fingers fumbled and Eggsy gave in and started working on some of the lower ones. “It was hard enough getting you to stay still for the fitting, I most certainly do not want to ruin your clothing.”

When he looked up Harry was pointedly not looking at him and he grinned. “Oh really? You’re not the slightest bit upset I didn’t let you at least pop a couple buttons off?” He could see the way Harry’s throat worked as he swallowed and his grin only grew wider. “Wouldn’t worry about it too fucking much, we’ve got years.”

“I like the sound of that,” Harry admitted as he peeled off the shirt and actually let it drop to the ground. It took Eggsy by surprise and to mask it he leaned forward, placing his hands on Harry’s hips and pressing a kiss to Harry’s abdomen, enjoying the way the muscles flexed under his touch.

They hadn’t really had the time before to just explore and touch, caressing just to see what the other liked. He let out a hum of approval as Harry let one hand tangle in his hair, blunt nails scratching his scalp lightly as he tested different things, the other hand moving down to rest on his shoulder. Dragging his lips over Harry’s rather fit chest, stretching up to flick his tongue over a hardened nipple, dipping his head down to leave teasing nips on the sensitive skin under the bodyguard’s navel. 

There was a desire to catalogue each response, to remember absolutely everything about their first actual night together, but there was something else, something entirely freeing, in the knowledge that he didn’t have to. This was just the first of many, so instead of trying to compare Harry’s groan when he slipped one hand down the back of his trousers to cup his arse and squeeze to the hissed intake of breath when he nipped on a particular bit of skin near his hip Eggsy just let himself enjoy it all.

He shifted a bit uncomfortably on the bed, wanting to reach down and at least adjust himself, maybe have a quick wank to take the edge off, but he couldn’t get himself to stop touching Harry, marveling at the skin under his fingertips. He almost whined as he felt Harry’s hips buck under his touch, pulling back enough to see the growing bulge in Harry’s trousers and licking his lips. 

“Shit.” The exclamation came from above him and he looked up to see Harry just staring down at him. “I believe I’ll take you up on that offer now,” The older man was trying to hold himself together, but his pupils were blown, voice shaking ever so slightly rather than being completely steady.

Reluctantly Eggsy pulled away, scooting back on the bed before turning over and clambering up toward the pillows so he could lean over toward the nightstand, fishing around for the lube he’d tried his best to tuck away. Seriously, the maids judged him enough. He let out a small noise of delight as his hand finally closed around the container, a noise that turned into a groan as Harry lightly swatted his arse before his fingers hooked into his waistband.

Harry pulled them down with agonizing slowness, the fabric easing down until finally his prick was free, jutting into the air proudly as he looked over his shoulder at Harry. His eyes were drinking their fill, as thirsty as a man who’d been in the desert for days, and just from the scrutiny he could feel his face heating up as Harry worked the undergarment fully off of his legs. It was only then that he noticed Harry had managed to take off his trousers as well, silk pants delightfully revealing more than they hid.

The sight had Eggsy shifting his knees apart on the bed, finding a comfortable position. Normally he’d finger himself open in the shower or on his back, using his other hand to wank, but normally Harry wasn’t there. This way would give him a much better view, and Eggsy could work with it.

“Thought you was just going to watch.” He was proud of himself for managing to sound somewhat cheeky, even prouder of the fact that he was still holding it together and hadn’t resorted to just humping the bed in desperation. 

“If that’s what you want,” Harry said agreeably, but he backed into the bed slightly as if he was trying to take a step back and Eggsy knew Harry was just as close to losing it as he was. He waited until Harry had sat on the bed before turning his attention to the lube in his hands, trying to imagine that this was just any other day and he wasn’t about to slick himself up for the man he’d basically already proposed to.

More lube came out than he’d intended, but from previous experiences he was firmly in the camp that there couldn’t really be such a thing as too much. What he hadn’t really considered was the angle he’d need to reach back, feeling a drip of it slide down his arse as he reached back.

He couldn’t look over his shoulder again. For one it was a slightly uncomfortable position, but for another he wasn’t sure he could actually look at Harry without cumming before things even began. So instead he just focused on the pillow in front of him, biting his lip as he slid his finger around his rim. He had to remind himself to relax, to breathe, slightly nervous now that he was actually doing this for Harry but his first finger pushed in easily. He’d been working on this, and it was almost grounding to have the familiar sensation. Different, not nearly full enough, but it was almost as if his body recognized the promise.

With the second finger he always rushed, never feeling as if the first was enough and wanting more, quickly, but this time he forced himself to wait, hips thrusting back for more before he relented. He didn’t even realize he’d let out a sigh of contentment until the noise was already in the air, colour filling his cheeks as he risked a glance behind him.

Harry was palming himself through his pants, eyes riveted on his hands and arse, seemingly unaware that Eggsy was even watching him. The thought that he had Harry so distracted made his cock twitch as he rolled his hips back slowly, sinking into a leisurely pace as he started to enjoy putting himself on display.

\---------

The worst thing about Eggsy fingering himself open was just how good at it he really was. He had mentioned practicing, but he was comfortable, not just with himself but with Harry, and the faint vein of jealousy that Harry felt whenever he thought of Eggsy being intimate with someone else was presenting itself.

Someday he was going to take Eggsy apart so thoroughly with his tongue alone that the prince wouldn’t be able to even remember his past lovers.

Eggsy didn’t hold back on filling the air with soft moans and whimpers, and now Harry understood the ear plugs given to Percival. The noises he made as he worked in a third finger had Harry squeezing his cock through his pants almost to the point of it being painful, staving off an orgasm, as Eggsy adjusted to the additional girth before starting to fuck his own hand again.

Agreeing just to watch had been a mistake. He was torn between asking Eggsy to stop and wanting to make sure he was prepped properly, between behaving himself and just moving in and brushing his thumb over the already stretched rim. His hips bucked and he bit at his wrist, trying to contain the obscene groan that otherwise would have filled the air at the thought.

“Oi, none of that.” He looked up to see Eggsy staring back at him, still slowly pumping his fingers. “I want to hear you. You getting off just from watching me?”

If Eggsy wanted to hear him, he might as well hear the truth. “Yes. And if things don’t move along soon you’ll only be enjoying fingers tonight.” There was a warning there, but it was the truth as well. “I’m not as young as I once was. I did try to warn you.”

“Bet you’ve still got it in you,” Eggsy practically purred as he pulled his fingers out. “But let’s save testing that til we don’t have to be nowhere in the morning. And why don’t you get rid of those?” He nodded toward Harry’s pants, and Harry had to agree with him, lifting his hips off the bed to get rid of the offending garment as Eggsy turned and crawled over toward him, snagging the scrap of silk before they hit the floor and wiping off his hand before discarding it.

Harry reached out, grabbing the back of his neck and pulling him in for another kiss, relaxing as Eggsy started to eagerly take control of the kiss, moving until he was straddling Harry’s thighs and sitting on his lap. 

The movement had their pricks bumping against each other and he let his hips push forward, groaning at the friction. Without breaking the kiss Eggsy reached back, groping around behind him to try to find something, finally breaking their lips apart to glance behind him before sighing. The lube was back by the pillow.

Harry was entirely unprepared for Eggsy to just go into a perfect back bend, back arched prettily as he stretched and snagged the bottle, muscles rippling as he tightened them and moved back into an upright position. For a moment he couldn’t even think, the image burned into his retinas, several filthy positions filling his mind, only jerking back to the present when Eggsy’s hand grabbed them both, pumping their shafts in unison.

“See something you like?” Eggsy was smirking at him, eyes full of mischief and Harry shrugged, a horrible habit that he sincerely hoped he wasn’t really picking up from Eggsy.

“Possibly. I might need to see it again later.” Eggsy still looked far too smug, so he reached up, tweaking one of his nipples and was rewarded with a gasp of surprise, precum pooling at the tip of his cock. “So what was all of this about you opening yourself up for me? Was that just a show or do I get admittance as well?”

“Impatient are we,” Eggsy breathed, but he was shifting forward, lifting himself up to his knees, reaching back to line Harry up with his entrance. It was all the older man could do to not buck his hips, forcing himself to stay still so Eggsy could do this at his own pace, his desire to cause as little pain to his partner outweighing his own impatience. 

Eggsy steadied himself with a hand on Harry’s shoulder, lowering himself down slowly. Still Harry could see him wince a bit as the head of his cock finally pushed in, and Harry reached down for his cock, slowly starting to stroke him, to try to give him something else to focus on.

“You’re bloody gorgeous,” Harry murmured, watching Eggsy’s eyes widen as he suddenly slid down a couple of inches, not fully seated but still sudden.

“Fuck. Harry, you can’t just--fuck.”

“I can’t what? Tell you how hard it is sometimes to just watch you from the back of the room while you give a speech and wish I could make everyone else disappear so I could bend you over one of the tables and fuck you senseless?”

He managed to keep his voice relatively calm, matter of fact almost, trying not to smirk as the muscles in Eggsy’s legs gave out and he sat down heavily, whimpering.

So maybe it was okay to rush things a little.

“That’s not fucking fair, you wanker. I’ve got to give another fucking speech tomorrow!”

“Oh that’s right,” Harry agreed, aiming for innocent. “But I’ll be beside you then, and thinking about what we’re doing now. Remembering you sitting on my lap.” He moved his hips then, thrusting up.

“Fuck you.” Eggsy sounded exasperated but he started moving his hips as well until they managed to find the right rhythm, rocking together almost leisurely. “You know, I could probably get you arrested or something for sexually harassing the crown prince.”

“Oh?” Harry was still trying to wrap his head around how easy this was. Not the sex, that could be learned, but falling into a conversation during it, neither of them too self conscious. Sure, the fact that neither of them had elbowed the other in the face yet was a good thing too. “That eager to get me into handcuffs.”

“Now that you mention it,” Eggsy said leadingly, and Harry had to chuckle.

“I think I’ll let you work up to that one. We’ll want to keep things exciting. Plus I already have some ideas for that extensive tie collection I insisted on.”

“I knew it! I knew there was a kinkier side than you were letting on about! That and there’s really no other reason for me to own that 70s orange monstrosity.” Eggsy was beaming again, and Harry couldn’t resist pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

“Do you think you could do that back bend again?” he asked, watching Eggsy’s eyebrows raise. Still he didn’t even question it as he bent backwards, letting himself rest back on his shoulders as Harry moved his free hand to his hip, holding them together as he raised up to his knees.

The new position gave him more leverage as he pulled out and pushed back in, snapping his hips forward with a bit of actual power behind it. After a few thrusts Eggsy was wiggling, working a knee up toward his chest before managing to lay his calf over the shoulder that hadn’t been injured, changing the angle enough so that Harry was pushing in deeper.

It paid off almost immediately, Harry pushing in and Eggsy almost arching off the bed with a shout. He took a moment, grinding in, pushing against that spot until Eggsy was almost sobbing before pulling out almost entirely and surging back in at the same angle. He sped up, pace just shy of frantic, thrusts changing to short presses as Eggsy batted his hand away and started wanking furiously.

It wasn’t long before Eggsy’s back arched almost impossibly higher, almost sobbing as cum splattered his chest and stomach. Harry would have had to be a younger man to hold himself back, finding his hips stuttering for another thrust or two before he was stilling, belatedly realizing there’d be a mess to clean up and Eggsy certainly wasn’t going to appreciate that. Somehow he couldn’t find it in himself to feel too bad as he pulled out slowly, Eggsy’s leg lowering as Harry crawled up to kiss him soundly.

\---------

“What the fuuu-” Eggsy blearily opened his eyes, squinting and realizing that he was fucking freezing. Which made sense when he realized that every single scrap of blanket or sheet was on the other side of the bed and all he had on was a pair of pants.

“Sorry Eggsy, I didn’t mean to wake you. I’m just heading back to grab a change of clothing. You can go back to sleep. I’ll be back in time for breakfast.”

It was a lot to take in but he nodded. “Turn off the light in the loo, yeah? And come back here when you get back.”

“Alright.” Harry was chuckling but he really wasn’t sure why as he fumbled for the covers, trying to drag some over to him half-heartedly. Then miraculously they were lifting up and covering him with warmth and he sighed contentedly before burrowing down. “Love you,” he muttered, mostly to his pillow.

Before he fell back asleep he thought he heard his pillow talking back to him. “I love you too, Eggsy.”


	13. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to give a sincere and heartfelt thank you to everyone that stuck with me for this! 15 days, over 40k, it’s been a wild ride! I planned on taking a break and doing some shorter prompt fills after this, but I've already got a fluff (and longer) AU getting outlined so that may be up next! As always, I'm Galahard on tumblr as well if you want to drop by.

Harry wasn’t entirely sure how he’d wound up being the unofficial liaison between the royal family and the Church, but he was just leaving a lengthy meeting with several archbishops when his glasses beeped. Removing them from his pocket he put them on and kept walking. “Yes Merlin?”

“Arthur. Excalibur has ditched his security detail again.”

He couldn’t even say he was surprised, barely suppressing the urge to rub at his temples. “How long has it been?”

“Just a few minutes ago. It’s the first time he’s actually gotten away from Tristan, and Percival was laughing too hard to fully explain the story.” 

Harry paused, halfway around the abbey he’d been married in a couple of years ago, giving in and twisting the gold band around his finger. “Can you repeat that?”

“You heard correctly. Percival was laughing.”

“His next appointment isn’t until after lunch, right? When Princess Tilde and Michelle arrive?” He couldn’t help but sound a bit fond as he said the small princess’ name, Eggsy wasn’t the only one she had twisted around her fingers. He could only imagine how utterly spoiled the next one would be when it arrived in half a year.

“Aye, and Lancelot will be escorting them in.”

“I’ll just go wait for Excalibur for a while and then collect him, no need to send backup. Though if you could make sure that Percival and Tristan walk JB as penance for losing track of Excalibur I’d appreciate it. It’s my day to take him out and you know how he behaves for everyone other than his owner.”

“Very good sir. Let me know if you need anything else, otherwise I’ll be working out the details for Princess Michelle’s visit to the zoo.”

Harry left the glasses on, the transition lenses at least helping with the sun as he continued making his way to the car. “The gymnasium, please,” he told the driver, the driver not saying a word but having a knowing look as they set off. At least Eggsy always escaped to the same place, so that they didn’t have the entire country on lockdown, but it was still ridiculous how often he managed it at all.

Outside the gymnasium he worked from inside the car for a while, giving Eggsy a bit more time while keeping an eye on the door, before he headed in, slipping over to the waiting area without anyone saying a word. Eggsy was working with a small group by the vaulting station, cheering ridiculously loud as the small children made their attempts, regardless of whether or not they landed on their feet. He even clapped for the one that didn’t even clear the vault.

He didn’t really acknowledge Harry but Harry had been there less than ten minutes before he was moving over, dropping into a seat next to him and sprawling out.

“You do remember that you have the record for the most death threats of any modern royal, don’t you?”

“Yeah, but that’s mostly exaggerated. Half them threats came from the month immediately after we came out, and you got almost as many as me for turning me.” Eggsy leaned over, kissing him quickly and there was a gagging noise from in front of them.

“Gross Mr. Eggsy! You ain’t supposed to kiss people in public.”

“Not even my husband?” He teased the small girl, who just looked at him like he was crazy.

“Kissing is gross. Joey tried to kiss me once on the playground so I kicked him.”

“Rightfully so. You kick any boy you don’t want kissing you. But just between you and me I like kissing Mr. Harry.” He winked at her but she just gave him that same crazy look and bounced off toward the door.

“For the record, I enjoy kissing you as well. Mr. Eggsy was it?” Eggsy rolled his eyes and pushed at his shoulder before standing up. “They still haven’t figured out who you are?”

“Oh, they guess, but they’re quick to believe I’m just some guy that looks a lot like Prince Gary, who’s gay like Prince Gary, and who likes to bring them all expensive trainers now and again.”

“I thought I recognized those.” He looked pointedly at Eggsy’s own feet and the garish trainers he was wearing and Eggsy just grinned.

“Oh come on! This style is even named after you! Hart and Sole, exclusive to the Prince Gary line.” Right. The Prince Gary line of chav wear that Adidas had made in honor of Eggsy. The line that had taken up so much of the closet he’d finally had to put his foot down and ask that no more than two of each item be kept in the closet and the rest be boxed up, and now Eggsy only seemed to wear a combination of the lines’ items when he dressed casually. Harry still wasn’t entirely certain if it was to spite him or not.

Harry had once looked into how much it would cost to acquire Adidas and stop production.

He couldn’t afford it.

So the only satisfaction he had from the clothing was when he was removing it, and it had taken four broken zippers for Eggsy to realize he was being purposefully rough on the jackets with the pug faces. Smug little bastards.

“So, is it time to head out then?” Eggsy asked, sparing a quick but wistful look around the gymnasium.

“If we want to meet Michelle at the airport then yes. We still have time to grab a bite on the way though.”

“Brilliant.” Eggsy beamed at him, waiting for him to stand before lacing their fingers together.

“Come along then Your Highness,” Harry told him teasingly, trying not to smile as Eggsy shoved him with his shoulder as they moved toward the door. “I heard your escape made Percival laugh.”

“Oh, you’re going to fucking love this. So we was leaving the breakfast with the Korean diplomat, yeah? Then Tristan--” 

He opened the door for Eggsy, watching in amusement as he tried to illustrate his story with only one handed gestures while they made their way to the car.


End file.
